INTROnrCTIOX TO N'KW KDITIOX. XI 



nitric aoitl, is tlio most costly iiij^rciliml in i»I;iiit fooil, and un- 

 fortunately it is v» ry ojvsily wiuslitnl out of tin' soil and lost. 

 Perhaps it is aWsolutoly inii>ossil)k' to entirely prevent all loss 

 from leaching; but it is certainly well worth our while t<5 under- 

 stand the subject, and t<j know exactly what wc are, doing. In 

 a new country, where land is clieap, it may l)e more profitable 

 to raise as large crops as iK)ssible witlntut any regard to the 

 loss of nitric acid. Hut this comlition of things does not last 

 long, and it very soon becomes desirable to adopt less w;usteful 

 processes. 



In Lawe-; and ( rilbert's experiments, ther.' is a great loss of 

 nitric acid from drainage. In no case luus as much nitrogen 

 been obtained in the increased croi) ;ls was ap[)lied in the ma- 

 nure. There is always a loss and probably always will be. But 

 we should do all we can t > make the 'oss as small as possible, 

 consistent with the production of profitable crops. 



There are many ways of lessening this loss of nitrie acid. Our 

 farmers sow superphosphate with their wheat in the autumn, 

 ami this stimulat<s. we think, the growtli of roots, which 

 ramify in all directions through the soil. This increased 

 growth of root brings the plant in contact with a 

 larger feeding surface, and enables it to take up more nitric 

 acid from its solution in the soil. Sich is also the case during 

 the winter and early spring, when a good deal of water iter- 

 meates through the soil. The application of superphosphate, 

 unquestionably in many cases, prevents much Vr)ss of nitric acid. 

 It does this by giviiig us a much greater growth of wheat. 



I was at Rothamsted in 1^79, and witn(^ssed the injurious 

 effect of an excessive rainfall, in wasliing out of the soil 

 nitrate of soda and salts of aTumonia, which were sown with 

 the wheat in the autumn. It was an exceedingly wet season, 

 and the loss of nitrates f)n all the different plots was very great. 

 But where the nitrates or salts of ammonia were sown in the 

 spring, while the crops were growing, the loss was not nearly 

 so great as when sown in the autumn. 



The sight of that wheat field impressed me, as nothing else 

 could, with the importance of guarding against the loss of 

 available nitrogen from leaching, and it has changed my prac- 

 tice in two or three important respects. I realize, as never be- 

 fore, the importance of applying manure to crops, rather than 

 to the land. I mean by this, that the object of applying ma- 

 nure is, not simply to make land rich, but to make crops grow. 

 Manure is a costly and valuable article, and we want to convert 



