Food for soluble, and will not circulate in the soil. These fertilizers 

 Plants should therefore be evenly distributed over the soil and well 

 *4 mixed with it. This is usually best done by applying broad- 

 cast before sowing the seed and before the ground is thor- 

 oughly prepared. In this way it gets well mixed with the soil. 

 Nitrate of Soda, on the other hand, will diffuse itself 

 rapidly and thoroughly throughout the soil wherever there 

 is enough moisture to dissolve it. It can therefore be ap- 

 plied by scattering on the surface of the ground as soon as 



How and 

 Where to Buy 

 Fertilizing 

 Materials. 



One Hundred Bushels of Ears of Corn per Acre. 

 Before Harvesting. 



the plants are up. This latter method, called "Top-Dress- 

 ing," is usually the best 



Since Nitrate of Soda and salts of 

 potash are brought to this country by sea, 

 and phosphate is usually transported from 

 the mines in vessels, all these materials, as 

 a rule, can be purchased at the seaports 

 cheaper than in the interior. New York is the largest market 

 for these materials, but Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charles- 

 ton, Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, Galveston, and San 

 Francisco are also ports of entry. 



Lower prices can be obtained by buying fertilizing 

 materials in car-load lots. A car-load is not less than ten 

 tons. // you cannot use a car-load yourself, get your neigh- 

 bors to join with you. Much money can often be saved in 

 this way. 



