How Nitrate Benefits the Farmer. 



Food for 

 Plants 



81 



EDITED BY WILLIAM S. MYERS. 



Nitrate of Soda, from the standpoint ot ^^^^^^ Nitrate 

 the Agricultural chemist, is a substance Looks Like; Its 

 formed by the union of nitric acid to sodium r^Ugrnical 

 oxide. In appearance, it resembles coarse pj.Qppj.fjps 

 salt. To -agriculture and the arts, it is 

 chiefly valuable for the active Nitrogen (commercially it is 

 an ammoniate package) contained in the nitric acid part of 

 the compound ; the Soda acts as a carrier, that the Nitrogen 

 may exist in such form physically, and that What it is in 

 it may be handled by ordinary appliances. Agriculture. 

 When pure it contains 16.47 pounds of 

 Nitrogen to the 100 pounds of Nitrate of Soda, that is, 

 16.47 P^^ ^^^^ Nitrogen. Commercially pure Nitrate 

 carries a Nitrogen percentage of about 15.75, equivalent to 

 19 per cent, of Ammonia or 380 lbs. to the ton. 



Nitrate of Soda in the crude state is ^yr. . . 



wnere it is 

 found mixed with earth in the arid section Found 



of northern Chili, from which it is extracted 



by treatment with hot water, the Nitrate being soluble in 



water. The enormous explosive industry of this country 



could not be conducted without Nitrate of -. ijopo 



Soda, and glass works are dependent upon 



Nitrate of Soda. In fact, glass works usually have Nitrate 



for sale, as do powder works. 



■ Nitrate of Soda has a special bearing , ^ d^o-,-^« :„ 



r _ _o j(g Hosiiion in 



on the progress of modern agriculture ; in ivaq^jp-.,, 



the first place it is the most nutritious form . . . 



r KT- ^ • 1 r J Agricultui 



of Nitrogenous or ammoniate plant food, 



and secondly it is a very important factor in the manufacture 

 of sulphuric acid and acid phosphate. While the action of 

 micro-organisms with certain crops, (leguminos^e), combines 

 and makes effective use of the inert Nitrogen of the atmos- 

 phere, such action is far too slow and uncertain for all the 

 requirements of modern agriculture. The rapid exhaustion 

 of combined Nitrogen has several times been noticed by 

 eminent scientific men, with reference to food famine because 

 of a lack of the needful Nitrogenous plant food. It has 



ire. 



