20 FOOD FOR PLANTS 



For crops like cabbage and beets, that it is desir- 

 able to force to rapid maturity, the kind of plant food, 

 especially of Nitrogen, is of the greatest importance. 

 Many fertilizers sold for this purpose have all the 

 Nitrogen they contain in insoluble and unavailable 

 form, so that it requires a considerable time for the 

 plants to get it. Another fault is that they do not 

 contain nearly enough Nitrogen. Stable manure 

 contains on the average in one ton 10 pounds 

 Nitrogen, 10 pounds potash, and only 5 pounds phos- 

 phoric acid, while the average "complete" fertilizer 

 contains more than twice as much phosphoric acid as 

 Nitrogen, a most unnatural and unprofitable ration. 

 A ration of 2 Nitrogen, 2 potash, and 8 of phosphoric 

 acid, is frequent in many of the so-called ''complete 

 fertilizers," which are really incomplete and unbal- 

 anced as well. A fertilizer for quick-growing veg- 

 etables should contain as much Nitrogen as phos- 

 phoric acid, and at least half this Nitrogen should be 

 in the form of Nitrate of Soda, which is the only 

 immediately available nitrogenous plant food. 



Comparative Availability of Nitrogen in Various 

 Forms. 



Some interesting and valuable experiments were 

 made at the Connecticut Experiment Station, to as- 

 certain how much of the Nitrogen contained in such 

 materials as dried blood, tankage, dry fish, and 

 cotton-seed meal, is available for plants. 



The experiments were made with corn, and it was 

 found that when the same quantity of Nitrogen was 



