Nitrate of How Much Nitrate is Best to Use. 



Soda for 



Sugar-Beets The amount of Nitrate which is most profitable to 



40 use depends upon the condition of the soil, and, of course, 

 upon the pocketbook. A reasonable quantity will be from 

 150 pounds to 300 pounds per acre. More can be used 

 to advantage upon naturally poorer land than upon the more 

 productive. There is a limit to the most profitable amount 

 to use, depending upon the condition of the land itself. A 

 soil will not produce over a certain limit for that particular 

 season, no matter how much plant food is present. As 

 much as 580 pounds has been used on rather poor land 

 with a little profit, but not a profit in proportion to the 

 results from the use of 300 pounds. 



When and How to Use Nitrate 

 Cost of Application. 



While there has been found to be little difference in 

 results between applying all the intended quantity at once 

 before or at the time of seeding and the same quantity 

 used partly at the time of application and the balance in a 

 couple of dressings later at different periods during the 

 growing season, it will probably be best, until this matter 

 is better understood, to apply the Nitrate in two portions, 

 half the quantity at or before the time of seeding and the 

 balance broadcasted over the beets after they are well 

 established, before the first hoeing and thinning. 



No matter in what manner the Nitrate may be applied, 

 the lumps must be broken up and all passed through a 

 5^-inch or ^-inch sieve or screen. The Nitrate can then 

 be broadcasted just before the last harrowing before seeding. 

 This can be done by the use of an endgate seed or fertilizer 

 sower, by which two men with a team and wagon can cover 

 40 to 50 acres per day. At 40 acres a day and $6.00 for 

 man and team, this will be at an expense of 1 5 cents per 

 acre. The labor of screening and resacking should not 

 exceed 5 cents per hundred pounds. The broadcasting can 

 also be done by means of a fertilizer distributor made for 

 the purpose, something after the manner of a grain drill. 

 By the use of this sower, one man and team could probably 



