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(2) It is easily washed out of the soil, almost as easily as 

 Nitrate of Soda, and is hence not suited for a rainy climatewhere 

 the rains form the cropping season. 



(3) It has only a very temporary action on the bush, and 

 after the year of application the soil is poorer than it originally 

 was. 



In 1900 an extensive correspondence took place as to its use 

 for tea in Ceylon. Sir John Lawes, perhaps the greatest authority 

 in the world on manuring, wrote : " My objection to Sulphate of 

 Ammonia does not arise because it is a highly nitrogenous and 

 soluble manure, but because it removes Lime from the soil, and I 

 understand that the Ceylon soils are poor in Lime." If it is to be 

 condemned in Ceylon because the soils are poor in lime, it is much 

 more so in Assam, where the soils are poorer. 



There are grave suspicions that large quantities of these soluble 

 concentrated nitrogenous manures injure the quality of the tea, 

 but this requires confirmation. I cannot, however, think, for the 

 reasons above given, that any of them should be used, except rarely, 

 and then only in combination in small quantity with permanent 

 feeding manures, as a slight stimulant to bushes which, for an 

 unknown reason, have become stationary and refuse to yield, and in 

 these cases I should much prefer the Nitrates of Soda and Potash to 

 Sulphate of Ammonia. 



PHOSPHATIC MANURES. 



We come now to Phosphatic Manures, that is to say, to those which 

 have the closest relation of any to quality in tea. Though bones, as 

 such, hardly act at all as a source of Phosphates for the plants, yet 

 they may be prepared in such a way that they do this very effectively. 

 The Phosphate in bones is present as Tribasic Phosphate of Lime, 

 which the plants are almost unable to take up. If, however, 

 Sulphuric Acid be added to the bones, a different Phosphate 

 is producedthe Mono-Phosphate of Lime which the plants are 

 perfectly capable of assimilating. Under this form the manure 

 is known in commerce as dissolved or vitriolized bones, and would 

 probably be very useful, both as a source of Nitrogen and of Phos- 

 phates, Actual field'experiments are not however to hand, and any 

 attempt to utilise them would be more or less of an experiment, 

 an experiment however very likely to yield successful results. If 



