Food for 

 Plants 



100 



Nitrate of Soda Experiments 



At the 



North Carolina State Horticultural Society's 



Experiment Farm 



At 



Southern Pines, N. C, 



During Years 1898, 1899, 1900. 



The Experiment Farm at Southern Pines, North 

 Carolina, was established in 1875. The soil is sandy, con- 

 taining little clay or vegetable matter in the form of humus. 

 It is a typical soil of the long-leaf pine belt, and contains 

 in a natural state very little available plant food. The 

 Experiment Farm is within a short distance of the village 

 of Southern Pines, about sixtv-six miles southwest from 

 Raleigh, on the Seaboard Air Line Railway. The Farm is 

 divided into two sections; the Fruit Farm of some (y!^ acres, 

 and the Vegetable Farm comprising about 50 acres. 



The climate is suitable for general fruit culture, the 

 mean temperature being about 60 degrees Fahrenheit ; the 

 spring and autumn means are about 60 degrees, the summer 

 mean 77 and the winter mean 44. Rain occurs frequently 

 in July and August, and the snow fall is very light. 



The Fruit Farm comprises seven series of plots, 29 

 plots to the series, and each plot one-tenth of an acre. The 

 seven series are as follows: 1, Small Fruits; II, Grapes; 

 III, Peaches; IV, Plums; V, Pears; VI, Apples ; VII, 

 Chestnuts and Persimmons. Each series extends completely 

 across the farm, that inequalities in the soil may so far as 

 possible be equalized. The general tillage of the plots 

 includes a cultivation every ten to twelve days, level and 

 shallow. Two plots of each series are unfertilized, the 

 remainder being treated with various combinations of ferti- 

 lizers designed to determine the crop-making power of 

 Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash ; also lime and green 

 manuring as a source of Nitrogen. Cow peas are used in 

 the green manuring experiments. 



The Vegetable Farm comprises eight series of plots of 

 ao plots each, and each plot one-twentieth of an acre. The 

 cultivation is uniformly such as the best farming practice 



