19 



in case a season should turn out to be wet, I should say 

 that, on a soil otherwise liberally manured, 4 cwt. of nitrate 

 per acre would be a thoroughly safe dressing. In the case 

 of neither dung nor any other nitrogenous fertilisers having 

 been recently applied, I see no reason for anticipating that, 

 even in a wet season, 6 cwt. of nitrate of soda per acre would 

 be otherwise than a safe dose. 



As to the time of application, the present opinion of Mr. 

 Shrivell and myself is that April or May is the latest time 

 at which nitrate should be applied, and we are inclined to 

 prefer April to May. The quantity used should be applied 

 in separate dressings of not more than 2 cwt. per acre at each 

 time, put on at intervals of a month. Where the quantity of 

 nitrate used is large, and constitutes the whole of the nitro- 

 genous manure employed, the first dressing may, on fairly 

 deep and retentive soils, be given as early as January ; or, if 

 the quantity used is smaller, say in February ; while February 

 will in most cases probably be early enough for the first dress- 

 ing in the case of lighter soils. The condition of the soil, and 

 the degree and distribution of rainfall during both the previous 

 autumn and the winter, as well as in the spring itself, produce 

 such varying conditions that it is almost impossible to frame 

 generally applicable rules. 



It has been generally supposed .that nitrate of soda is a 

 manure which should be reserved for use during the latter 

 period of the growth of the bine. Now the summer months, 

 when the growth of the bine is most active, are the months 

 in which natural nitrification is at work in the soil, converting 

 soil nitrogen and the nitrogen of dung, guano, fish, rape dust, 

 shoddy, or other fertilisers into nitrates, and placing this 

 nitrogen at the disposal of the plant ; and it appears reason- 



