THE RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
I 
I 
190*. 
i3i 
HOW TO FERTILIZE. 
Every farmer knows plants need food 
as much as cattle do. He knows, too, 
that plants cannot get all the food they 
need out of the ground alone. He must 
supply them with certain foods himself or 
they will not thrive and bear their full 
yield of fruit. Exactly as he supplies hay 
and oats to his horse so he must supply 
potash, phosphate and nitrogen to his 
plants. He may buy these in the open 
market exactly as he does his hay or his 
oats, or he can buy them in combination 
in the form of a “complete fertilizer.” 
There is no secret value in the complete 
fertilizer, it is nothing more nor less than 
the three ingredients combined and sold 
at a higher price. Of the three nitrogen 
is by far the most expensive and it will 
pay the farmer well to stop and think be¬ 
fore he buys it in this combination form. 
The Best and Cheapest Am- 
mouiate. 
The cheapest and most practical form in 
which to furnish nitrogen to plants is 
Nitrate of Soda. In the rainless region of 
Chili are stored away vast quantities of 
nitrogen in what is known as nitrate form 
—the only form in which nitrogen can be 
utilized by a plant. The nitrogen which 
ixists in organic matter, that is. roots, 
stems, dead leaves, weeds etc., and the 
nitrogen which exists in the form of Am¬ 
monia, must first be changed to nitrate 
before it can be taken up by the plant. 
This change is dependent upon conditions 
of weather. If the season is backward or 
there should be a prolonged drouth it may 
be so retarded as to deprive the plant al¬ 
together of nitrate food at the very time 
it needs it most. Nitrate of Soda on the 
other hand is entirely independent of 
weather conditions. It is immediately 
available under any circumstances, for it 
is readily soluble, and as soon as it comes 
in contact with the roots of the plants 
is at once absorbed by them, and continues 
to be absorbed until used up. It can read¬ 
ily be seen from this that the utility of 
the various forms of nitrogen ranges from 
nothing at all, when conditions of temper¬ 
ature or soil prevent nitration, to 100 per 
cent, when nitration has already taken 
place, as in the case of Nitrate of Soda. 
More than this the process of transform¬ 
ing nitrogen, as it exists for instance in 
cotton seed meal, dried fish, dried blood, 
tankage, etc., into nitrate is very waste¬ 
ful, much valuable nitrogen being lost in 
the process. Experiments have shown 
that 100 pounds of Ammonia in these or¬ 
ganic forms have only one-half to three- 
fourths the manurial value of 100 pounds 
of Ammonia in its nitrated form of 
Nitrate of Soda. 
A Great Saving. 
In view of these facts it seems extra¬ 
ordinary that farmers should continue to 
purchase their nitrogen in compound form 
with potash and phosphate, when they can 
procure it much cheaper, and in condition 
for the plant to use, in the form of Nitrate 
of Soda. Some years ago the New Jersey 
Experiment Station, after analyzing 195 
different “complete fertilizers,” found the 
average agricultural value, that is to say, 
the market price of the various constitu¬ 
ents, to be $25.66 per ton, while the aver¬ 
age selling price was $34.23 per ton. In 
some instances the actual value of the plant 
food was as low as $15.00 per ton, while the 
price per ton was $35.00. The average com¬ 
plete fertilizer costs usually 25 per cent 
more than it is worth. Available nitrogen 
in the form of Nitrate of Soda costs about 
L r > cents per pound. In so-called "com¬ 
plete fertilisers” it costs from 20 to 30 
cents a pound, and even then is often in a 
form U'hich is not available to the plants , 
for it must be converted into Nitrate. 
The time required to do this varies from a 
few days to a few years according to the 
temperature of the soil and the kind and 
condition of the material used. 
How It Helps Crops. 
If a very young pig or a young calf 
does not have an abundance of the right 
kind of food when it is young it becomes 
stunted in growth, and never recovers 
from it, no matter how judiciously it is 
afterwards fed. The intelligent cultivator 
has learned that the same holds good in 
the feeding of plants. Nitrogen is the ele¬ 
ment which enters most largely into the 
building up of the plant itself—its root, 
its stem and its leaves. Most plants need 
to take up about 75 per cent of their 
total Nitrate Nitrogen during the early 
stages of their growth. It is plain, there¬ 
fore, that the cultivator cannot afford to 
overlook the available nitrate, and thus 
endanger the chances of his crops which 
must have nitrogen in a form the plants 
can use. The presence of nitrate at the 
outset enables the plant to get its food 
when it needs it, and develops a vigorous 
growth of roots, leaves and stems, capable 
of withstanding the first scorching rays of 
the sun or sudden changes of the temper¬ 
ature, disease or the attacks of parasites. 
Nitrate of Soda is of special value for 
EARLY CROPS, such as PEAS, CORN, 
BEETS, CABBAGE, etc., where rapid 
maturity is desirable. It is a great help 
to HAY, GRAIN, RYE, WHEAT, 
TIMOTHY, ORCHARD or other grasses, 
all of which are unable to obtain sufficient 
nitrogen from the soil just when they need 
it. It is of great importance in the pro¬ 
duction of SUGAR BEETS, POTA¬ 
TOES, COTTON and CANE. 
Small fruits such as BLACKBERRIES, 
CURRANTS, RASPBERRIES and 
Gooseberries, which need a steady 
even growth are greatly benefited by Ni¬ 
trate of Soda which can be furnished 
all ready for absorption when the plants 
require. 
The highest agricultural authorities 
have established by careful experimenta¬ 
tion that 100 pounds per acre Nitrate of 
Soda applied to crops has produced the 
INCREASED yields tabulated as follows: 
Barley . 
lbs. 
of grain 
Corn. 
44 
44 
Oats. 
• « 
44 
Rye. 
l( 
44 
Wheat. 
44 
ii 
Potatoes. 
44 
44 
Hay. 
“ Barn cured 
Cotton. 
44 
Seed 
cotton 
Sugar Beet. 
. . . .4000 
44 
Tul>ers 
Beets . 
. 4900 
lbs. 
tubers. 
Sweet Potatoes. ... 
44 
44 
Cabbages . 
. 6100 
44 
'1 
Carrots . 
44 
44 
Onions . 
. 1800 
44 
44 
Strawberries . 
. 200 
quarts. 
Asparagus . 
bunches. 
Tomatoes . 
.... 100 
baskets. 
Celery . 
.... 30 
per 
cent. 
Nitrate of Soda is a plant tonic, and an 
energizer; it is not a stimulant in any 
sense of the word. 
Phosphatic and potassic manures should 
usually be applied in connection with 
Nitrate of Soda at the rate of about 250 
pounds to the acre of each. We do not 
recommend the use of Nitrate of Soda 
alone except at the rate of not more than 
100 pounds to the acre, when it may be 
used without other fertilizers. 
How to Learn About It. 
All of the Nitrate mines in Chili are 
supervised by the government and as it 
is one of the chief sources of revenue 
authentic information is annually circulat¬ 
ed about Nitrate of Soda among those who 
should profit by it. For this purpose the 
Nitrate of Soda Propaganda is main¬ 
tained. Advertisements have been insert¬ 
ed in the leading agricultural papers 
and a bureau established at 12-16 John 
Street, New York, for giving out in¬ 
formation in regard to actual tests made 
with Nitrate of Soda. 
Results on Hay. 
In 1904 samples of Nitrate of 
Soda were sent to farmers to experi¬ 
ment on timothy. In each case two patches 
were marked out in the hay field, side 
by side—each about 20 feet square, 
about 1-100 of an acre. One re¬ 
ceived Nitrate of Soda, equivalent of 
100 pounds per acre, the other bad nope. 
The following are fair samples of the re¬ 
sults repotted, giving t'ne weight of cured 
hay in each case: 
Horace Field, Ma^tapoinext. Mass. 
Plot Without Nitrate, 60 lbs. Plot with Ni¬ 
trate, 90 lbs. 
“Hay was well made. Nitrate plot ready 
to cut 10 days earlier than plot without 
Nitrate and the growth now is mtich heavier 
on the Nitrate plot." 
William Norman, Toledo. O. 
Plot without Nitrate. 30 lbs. With Ni¬ 
trate, 02 lbs. “This is what I call dyna¬ 
mite soda." 
E. P. Nance, Oak Level, Ivy. 
Plot without Nitrate, 70 lbs. Plot with 
Nitrate 104 lbs. 
Ole O. Hatledal. Benson. Minn. 
Plot without Nitrate 20 lbs. With Ni¬ 
trate, 52 lbs. 
“Plot with Nitrate now thick with grass 
again and will produce second crop of hay. 
Plot without Nitrate will not be worth cut¬ 
ting again." 
David H. Eppi.ey, Muskingum. O. 
“Plot without Nitrate 42!£ lbs.; with Ni¬ 
trate, 78 lbs.” 
“Am much pleased and only wish I had 
used It on my whole field.” 
Herbert .T. France, Blairsville, Penna. 
Plot without Nitrate, 63 lbs.; with Nitrate, 
118 lbs. 
“Hay was thoroughly cured when weighed. 
Plot with Nitrate kept six or eight inches 
ahead all summer.” 
H. E. Happle, Cocoi.amus, Penna. 
Plot without Nitrate, 28 lhs. ; with Nitrate. 
53 lbs. “Am well pleased with the result.” 
Alonzo J. Bryan, Hunterdon, N. J. 
Plot without Nitrate. 31 lhs.; with Nitrate. 
63Vj lhs. “The Nitrate made wonderful re¬ 
sults.” 
Chas. J. Grotii, Springville, N. Y. 
Plot without Nitrate, 78 lbs. ; with Nitrate, 
147 lbs. “Cut Nitrate plot twice.” 
E. B. Strong, Cauming, Nova Scotia. 
Plot without Nitrate, 68 lbs.: plot with 
Nitrate. 91 lbs. “Much pleased with re¬ 
sults.” 
Leonard D. Spicknall, La Belle, Mo. 
Plot without Nitrate. 44 lbs.; with Nitrate. 
69 lbs. “I consider Nitrate of Soda a most 
valuable producer as hay seems softer and 
brighter from Nitrate plot than from the 
other.” 
Wm. Henderson. Athens, Penna. 
Plot without Nitrate. 34 lhs.; with Nitrate. 
60 lbs. “It was a fine test.” 
The average of these tests show an in¬ 
crease of 2775 pounds of field cured hay 
per acre with the use of 100 pounds Ni¬ 
trate of Soda. Bearing in mind the fact 
that Nitrate of Soda costs $2.25 to $2.75 
per 100 pounds it is very evident that it 
pays to use it. 
The Purpose of the Nitrate 
Propaganda. 
Free books, bulletins and all desired in¬ 
formation are promptly forwarded to 
those interested. Most farmers of the 
United States have seen Nitrate of Soda 
advertisements and thousands have writ¬ 
ten in answer to them for free books. 
No Nitrate is sold by the Nitrate Prop¬ 
aganda ; it is maintained simply to put the 
facts clearly and accurately before the cul¬ 
tivators throughout the country and rap¬ 
idly they are finding out that Nitrate of 
Soda is the cheapest and by far the most 
practical form of supplying their crops 
with nitrogen. 
Free Information. 
To the farmer who wants to know, the 
Propaganda, in addition to bulletins from 
agricultural experiment stations all over the 
world, giving results of actual trials with 
Nitrate of Soda, is sending a handsomely 
illustrated book, “Food for Plants” con¬ 
taining over 230 pages of matter which any 
farmer may understand, and which should 
be in the library on every farm in the 
United States. 
Farmers who may not care to make any 
of the experiments, who would like to 
know the results that others have obtained 
or who desire any information whatever 
concerning Nitrate of Soda should write 
to William S. Myers, Director, 12-16 
John Street, New York. 
»•>-* •- 
IT’S ECONOMY 
to give your horse good 
nourishing feed. You 
cannot get the best work 
out of him unless you do. 
It’s economy to feed your 
fields with a top dressing of 
NITRATE OF SODA 
(The Standard Ammoniate.) 
You cannot get the best results unless you do. 
The difference between a field so fed and a field without is shown in the 
above reproduction from a photograph. 
The crop on the right (one acre of Timothy) was treated with Nitrate of 
Soda. The neighboring crop had none. 
We will give you the opportunity to 
TEST IT FOR YOURSELF ENTIRELY FREE 
by sending sufficient Nitrate of Soda for you to try it, askingonly that you use ac¬ 
cording to our directions, and let us know the result. To the twenty-five farmers 
whogetthe best results, we offer, as a prize, Prof. V'oorhees’ most valuable book on 
fertilizers, their composition, and how to use for different crops. Handsomely 
bound, 327 pages. 
Apply at once for Nitrate of Soda, asthisofferisnecessarily limited. “Food 
for Plants,” a 230 page book of useful information, sent free to farmers. 
WILLIAM S. MYERS, Director, 12-16 John St., New York 
