5 



As I have also before pointed out, another source of distrust 

 of nitrate of soda is no doubt the fact that it has been fre- 

 quently applied too late in the season, with the result of 

 delaying the ripening period, a result which, in many seasons, 

 is, as hop-growers well know, highly undesirable. 



That nitrate of soda possesses any specific direct influence 

 on the hop plant, apart from what is due to its ready avail- 

 ability and concentration, is an idea for which there would 

 seem to be no foundation. Ultimately all other forms of 

 nitrogenous manure are converted into nitrate in the soil. 

 Some such as woollen rags, horn shavings, or hoof-parings 

 are only converted into nitrate after a considerable time; fish 

 guano, rape dust, and dried blood require less time; and 

 sulphate of ammonia, and the ammonia salts in guano, 

 require still less, being chemically much nearer to the nitrate 

 stage. In warm and moist weather these latter are converted 

 into nitrate with fair rapidity, and there is no chemical 

 difference between them and nitrate when they actually reach 

 that stage of plant food. 



It would seem, therefore, that if nitrate of soda has in some 

 hands proved hurtful, it is (i) because it has been applied 

 without a proper quantity of phosphates or potash, or (2) 

 because it has been applied too abundantly, or (3) because it 

 has been applied at the wrong time. 



In the experiments at Hadlow, we have been endeavouring 

 to solve the question as to the extent to which it is possible 

 to profitably apply nitrate of soda to hops, and when it is best 

 applied. For this purpose, it has been necessary to make the 

 experiments as simple and as free from complication as 

 possible, and no attempt has been made to compare the 

 results obtained from nitrate of soda with those which would 



