104 The Nitrogen Problem in Crop Production. 
should give special study to the selection of suitable packages, 
the colour as well as kind of packing material, and to 
very careful grading and packing, in order that the best effect 
may be produced when the consignment is opened. I know 
that in this respect there are some good pioneers at work in and 
around Evesham, and probably nothing more need be added to 
these remarks. 
This article would be incomplete without some reference to 
the Railway facilities in the district. The Midland Company 
ai d Great Western Company collect small quantities of garden 
produce within a radius of several miles of their respective 
stations, so the man whose holding does not justify the possession 
of a horse or pony is, though not on equal terms with the man 
who has one, much more fortunate than is the case in some 
districts. 
The Midland Company have nine or ten stations in the 
district, and the Great Western Company six or seven ; so the 
Yale of Evesham is well served. 
These railway facilities certainly are a great advantage, and 
the climate and soil possibly play a great part in producing the 
extraordinary qualities, quantity, and variety of the produce 
from the district. But fruit growing and market gardening 
would not be so prosperous were it not for the attention given 
to the crops by the excellent and hard-working cultivators of 
Evesham and district. 
James Udale. 
2, Ombersley Road, 
Droitwicb. 
THE NITROGEN PROBLEM IN CROP 
PRODUCTION. 
By Edward J. Russell, D.Sc., 
“ Goldsmith " Chemist for Soil Investigations , Rothamsted 
Experimental Station. 
NITROGEN is almost equally important in all branches of 
farming : the yield of crops is increased by increasing the 
amount present in the soil, the yield of milk is affected by 
the amount supplied to the animal, while the rate at which 
a beast fattens is greatly influenced by the quantity present 
in its food. It is by far the most expensive constituent in 
