Food for be, or however freely chemical fertilizers may have been used, 

 PI>nts the top-dressing of Nitrate will be found to have increased the 

 J 34 fruiting power of the plants, and to have also added to the 

 flavor and color of the fruit. 

 Formula for Tomatoes : 



Nitrate of Soda (in two or more applications) 400 Ibs. 



Superphosphate 400 ' 



Sulphate of potash '. 100 " 



It has been found by experiments made at the New Jer- 

 sey Experiment Station for a period of three years, that Nit- 

 rate of Soda, applied when the plants are set out, greatly in- 

 creased their growth early in the season and produced a much 

 larger crop of early ripe fruit than either barn-yard manure, 

 "phosphates," or no manure at all. 



Experiments with Fertilizers on Tomatoes. 



Yield per 



Kind of fertilizer used and quan- Cost of acre in Value of 



tity per acre. fertilizer. bushels. crop. 



z. No manure 613 $208.61 



2. 1 60 Ibs. Nitrate of Soda $4.00 838 300.64 



3. 160 Ibs. muriate of potash, 320 



Ibs. bone-black 7.20 649 252.92 



4. 160 Ibs. Nitrate of Soda, 160 



Ibs. muriate of potash, 300 



Ibs. bone-black 11.20 867 301.25 



5. 20 tons barn-yard manure 30.00 612 218.27 



It will be noticed that 160 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, 

 costing $4.00, made an increase in the value of the crop of 

 $92.03 per acre over the unfertilized land, and $82.37 over 

 the land where 20 tons of barn-yard manure, costing $30.00, 

 was used. It will also be noticed that the addition of phos- 

 phate (bone-black) and potash had little or no effect. This 

 does not indicate that tomatoes do not require phosphoric 

 acid and potash, but that enough of these elements of plant 

 food was already in the soil. 



The yield of early tomatoes was very decidedly increased by the use of 

 Nitrate of Soda, both alone and together with phosphoric acid and potash. 



