should unfavorable weather conditions intervene; the crop Food for 

 must be kept growing at all hazards. In good practice an plants 

 application of from fifteen to twenty tons of manure and 49 

 about one ton of a high-grade commercial fertilizer are used 

 per acre. The plants are usually grown under glass, and trans- 

 planted as soon as the land is fit to work. Hence the questions 

 asked by the experimenter were, first, whether an additional 

 application of Nitrogen in the form of a Nitrate would be a 

 profitable practice in connection with this heavy application 

 of all of the plant-food constituents, and second, how much 

 should be used. The applications, therefore, ranged 

 from 400 to 700 pounds per acre. The results 

 from the experiments of two years were emphatic 

 in showing an increase in yield and a considerable 

 profit each year, and though the profits were not 

 in proportion to the amount of Nitrogen applied, the 

 largest net returns were obtained from the heaviest applica- 

 tions; the average net return per acre from 400 pounds was 

 $24.40, and from 700 pounds, $47.55. The influence of 

 the Nitrate was noticeable mainly upon the earliness of crop. 

 In the first experiment the yield of the first picking was 63 

 per cent, greater from the Nitrated plots than from the one 

 upon which no additional Nitrate had been added. The ex- 

 tra early yield, for which the highest prices were obtained, 

 was increased from 8.3 per cent, on the plot on which 400 

 pounds were added to 12.8 per cent, on the plot which re- 

 ceived 700 pounds per acre, an increased yield at a less cost 

 per unit of harvesting points of great importance. 



The amount used may range from 400 



to 800 pounds per acre, depending upon Method of Usin 8 

 the conditions, always remembering that litrate. 



the richer the soil and the better its condition the larger will 

 be the amount of Nitrate that can be used to advantage. The 

 beets are usually transplanted, and one-half of the amount 

 of Nitrate of Soda used may be applied either before trans- 

 planting (as the danger of leaching will not be serious) or 

 immediately after, and in about three weeks the balance may 

 be applied. In applying Nitrate after the plants have made 

 considerable growth of top, care should be taken to distribute 

 it as near as possible between the rows, or, if broadcasted, 

 only when the leaves are perfectly dry, so that all of the salt 

 may reach the soil, and thus not be liable to injure the plants. 



