THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 5, 
136 
STUDIES OF NITROGEN. 
Nitrate of Soda. 
In all these talks about nitrogen we 
have tried to make it clear that all of 
this substance now in the soil came orig¬ 
inally from the air. We must look to the 
air for any new supplies. The thing to 
remember as the foundation of it all is 
that the nitrogen in our ordinary chem¬ 
ical fertilizers is the same as that in 
our stable manures or in the green crops 
we plow under—only changed in form. 
We have seen how two forms of nitro¬ 
gen are taken directly from the air, and 
how sulphate of ammonia is saved from 
the smoke and fumes from burning coal. 
We try to save the ammonia in our ma¬ 
nure piles and stables in much the same 
way. Now we come to nitrate of soda. 
The name is familiar to all who use 
chemical fertilizers, and many have seen 
the coarse grey salt. It does not look 
much like manure or clover, yet when 
we use a handful of it on the ground we 
feed the crop about what we do in a 
large forkful of manure after the latter 
has been fully decayed. 
To understand this we have only to 
study the origin of the nitrate and see 
how it was formed. There are a few 
deposits in the Nile valley and in some 
other places, but most of it is found in 
Chile, on an elevated plain some 3,000 
feet above sea level. The climate is 
very dry, rain falling only every two or 
three years, and then being rapidly evap¬ 
orated. It is supposed that this nitrate 
plain was an ancient sea bed thrown up 
“high,and dry” by some volcanic action, 
where, through ages of dry atmosphere, 
the nitrate was separated from organic 
matter and left as it is. 
There are many theories regarding the 
origin of nitrate of soda. We will men¬ 
tion three. By some it is thought that 
before this plain was lifted away from 
the sea coast it carried immense masses 
of sea weed which, in the dry air, has 
oxidized or decayed, so that the nitrogen 
of the sea weed combined the soda in the 
sea salt. A second theory is that former¬ 
ly fresh water 'streams came flowing 
from the mountains carrying nitrates and 
other fertilizing matter from the rich 
mountain soils and rocks. This water it 
is thought spread out over the plain, 
forming what might be called a “dry 
swamp,” containing great stores of nitro¬ 
gen. Then the conditions changed, and 
through long dry ages the organic mat¬ 
ter was broken up and the nitrates left 
as we now find them. Still another 
theory which we have mentioned before 
is that years ago this region was inhabi- 
tated by vast herds of animals which 
have the singular habit of always drop¬ 
ping their dung at one and the same 
place. Vast herds would travel to certain 
points, accumulating great quantities 
somewhat like the great piles of guano 
found on the dry Pacific islands. 
You will see that all three agree that 
nitrate of soda come originally from or¬ 
ganic matter—either what is represented 
by our ‘‘green manure,” swamp muck or 
stable manure. In a damp climate the 
greater part of these nitrates would have 
been lost from the soil by leaching—just 
as they are from many of our farm 
soils. In that dry, rainless climate they 
could not leach, but were held in the soil 
where to-day they can be mined and 
saved to be used as fertilizers. There 
may be some of our readers who have 
made “nitre beds” out of manure piles 
kept under cover. I have met men in the 
South who, during the Civil War, made 
this “nitre” out of horse and cow manure 
—using it to manufacture gunpowder 
When they scraped up this greyish pow¬ 
der they did not know or care that they 
were doing in a small way what Nature 
has done on a large scale in these South 
American deposits of nitrate of soda. 
Now the point of all this is that in 
our farming nitrogen is the most impor¬ 
tant element of plant food. We have 
got to have it for our crops. Every 
ounce we use must have come out of 
the air originally. We hope to prove 
this later on. When you buy nitrate of 
soda, sulphate of ammonia, blood or bone 
you pay some man for standing between 
you and Nature. For Nature, through 
longer or shorter processes, packed that 
nitrogen away in the nitrate, the sulphate | 
or the blood, and man saves it and puts 
it into form for your use. You may find 
it convenient to buy some nitrate or the 
other soluble forms of nitrogen, but tell 
me why any farmer with enough land 
to grow clover or Alfalfa or peas should 
buy organic nitrogen. What is there in 
blood or tankage or the other organic 
forms that you cannot find in clover or 
Alfalfa? Accepting the theory of the 
seaweed or of the manure you can see 
that if vast quantities of clover or Al¬ 
falfa had been used in their place these 
deposits of nitrate of soda would still be 
there even richer than now. 
The nitrate of soda is the most avail¬ 
able form of chemical nitrogen we have, 
and is particularly useful to start an early 
crop, like grass, grain or garden crops on 
a naturally cold soil. We shall tell of 
its action upon the soil later. We can 
next take up some organic forms of ni¬ 
trogen, and always remember that every 
bit of it all must come out of the air. 
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That’s because we put the very finest 
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Remember— THE C. A. C. AXE doesn’t 
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cheap axe—but when it comes to chop¬ 
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Ask your dealer for THE C. A. C. AXE. Tf he 
hasn’t it, send us his name and we’ll send you 
“The Story of Ed. Moot and the C.A.C. Axe” 
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The C.A.C. Axe Company, 12 Pear!St., Boston, Mass 
Dwarf or Standard Apple Trees. 
C. A. H-, Lafayettevillc, A 7 . Y.—Having 
seen quite a claim for dwarf apple frees 
in the seed and nursery stock catalogue of 
a well-known firm, 1 ask your opinion on 
the relative merits of dwarf and standard 
trees for this climate, northern New York. 
Please state the difference in age of hear¬ 
ing. quality and quantity of fruit and care 
required by trees; also name the best kinds, 
not for a commercial but a small orchard 
bearing fruit for home use. 
Ans. —For the average grower the 
dwarf fruit trees are much like toys. 
They require constant petting and the 
most careful attention—far more than 
most farmers are willing to give them. 
The dwarfs will usually come into bear¬ 
ing about two years earlier than stand¬ 
ards. The fruit, when the trees are 
well cultivated and sprayed, is large 
and brilliant in color. After the stand¬ 
ard once gets well started it will greatly 
outyield the dwarf. We have seen the 
dwarfs growing on Geo. T. Powell’s 
farm in Columbia Co., where they had 
thorough care. Such an orchard as that 
would furnish splendid apples for home 
use, but few people would be willing 
to handle the trees as Mr. Powell does. 
The varieties which do best as stand¬ 
ards in your locality would be best 
to plant as dwarfs. From our own ex¬ 
perience we would advise standards, 
though a few dwarfs will give you apples 
while the standards are getting ready 
to bear. 
For Best EXTENSION LADDER at ^« ricee 
JOHN J. I’OTTER,H Mill St., Binghamton, N. Y. 
EXCELL 
ROOFING 
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and 
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IOO-GALLON CYPRESS 
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For storing wa- 
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furnish with tight cover mak¬ 
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all other size Tanks In any 
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Goods guaranteed as repre, 
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Ttw* DA LT I M O R|T po 
The OCOOPERAGt ^°. 
32 S. LIBERTY STREET, 
BALTIMORE, MD. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
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“a square deal.’’ See guarantee page 16. 
Is the Potato a Paying Crop ? 
The man who has good potato ground 
should be happy. Potatoes are unques¬ 
tionably one of the most profitable crops 
that the farmer can grow. Improved 
potato machinery has made great prof¬ 
its possible. Chief among potato plant¬ 
ers is the Evans, manufactured by Tke 
American Seeding-Machine Co., Incor¬ 
porated, Springfield, Ohio. This ma¬ 
chine opens the furrow, plants and cov¬ 
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—far more accurately than can be done 
by hand. It has adjustable pickers that 
will handle all sized seed. Where arti¬ 
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nished, which is guaranteed to sow any 
and all brands. The Evans Potato 
Planter will pay for itself in a single 
season where the acreage is sufficient. 
One man or boy can operate the Evans 
under all conditions of seeding. It is 
light draft, simple and strong. Send to 
the manufacturers for a copy of their 
Evans Potato Planter catalogue. If you 
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pleased to answer your questions. After 
you have read this catalogue, go to your 
implement dealer and insist on seeing 
the Evans—the machine that must and 
will do all the manufacturers claim. 
Take no substitute. Get the Evans— 
the machine that “makes good.”— Adv. 
RIP SAWS, 5,6&7 DOLLARS 
Mandrels with pulley and iron bed frame, com¬ 
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Write for descriptive circular. 
Diamond Tool Works, Eden Center, N. Y. 
CIDER PRESSES 
The Original Mt. Gilead Hydraulic Press 
produces more cider from less 
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137 Lincoln Ave., Mt. Gilead, Ohio, _ 
Or Room 119 L 39 Cortlaudt Street, New York, N. Y. 
Raw Ground Lime Rock 
For Agricultural uses. Write us for prices, etc. 
F. E. CONLEY STONE CO„ Utica, N V. 
For San Jose Scale, and to Improve Health of Tree and Shrub. 
BOWKER’S 
Concentrated 
Lime-Sulphur 
Made in New England. FRESH from Factory to User. 
N OW IS THE TIME TO ORDER Lime-Sulphur, 
which should be used while the trees are dormant. It 
destroys San Jose and all other Scale Insects and fung¬ 
ous spores wintering on the bark. It improves the health of 
the tree by destroying the mosses and lichens. As J. H. Hale 
says: “It smoothes up the trees.” 
All ready to use by adding cold water. No boiling, no special mixing 
plant required; no guesswork as to formula. Just add cold water, and spray. 
Before spraying your orchard, post yourself about Bowker’s sprays.—Write today for prices. 
BOWKER 
INSECTICIDE COMPANY, 
43 Chatham St., Boston, Mass. 
Manufacturers of Bowker’s PYROX for fruits and vegetables. 
