250 Fertilizers 



and which had been previously well manured for crops 

 entering the rotation. The results do not apply in the 

 case of very poor soils, or upon heavy clay soils, which 

 are not adapted for the early crop. 



The statement that it pays to fertilize early tomatoes, 

 and that nitrate of soda is one of the best fertilizers for 

 the crop, must therefore be accompanied by statements 

 regarding the condition of soil and the purpose of growth. 

 With the conditions clearly understood, a scheme of 

 fertilization for early tomatoes may be outlined which, 

 when the conditions are observed, will be likely to give 

 much better results than methods of fertilization which do 

 not take into consideration the habits of the plant and the 

 special object of its growth. 



For example, on soils which have been well supplied 

 with phosphoric acid and potash by manuring and fertiliz- 

 ing previous to setting, a complete fertilizer containing 

 sufficient nitrogen derived from nitrate of soda to start 

 the plant nicely should be used. If as much as 80 pounds 

 of phosphoric acid and 100 pounds of potash have been 

 supplied, an application of 100 to 150 pounds of nitrate of 

 soda alone may be used, followed by a side-dressing of 

 150 to 200 pounds of nitrate of soda after the fruit has 

 set and grown to about the size of walnuts. Care should 

 be exercised not to make the application at the time of 

 setting too large, because too rank growth often causes the 

 plants to shed their bloom. A single application at the 

 time of setting the plants would, perhaps, under good 

 seasonal conditions give results quite as good, though 

 the heavier application of nitrate at one time may result, 

 in certain cases, in the loss of nitrogen by leaching, since it 

 is an extremely soluble salt. In this case a deficiency of 

 food would result, and thus prevent normal development. 



