A Study oif Colorado Wheat 
67 
THE EFFECT OF NITRATES ON NITROGEN CONTENT 
That the nitrogen content of wheat may be increased by the ap¬ 
plication of sodic nitrate or ammonia salts, has been known a long 
time, so there is nothing new in the statement of the fact. The nitrates 
imlpart characteristic physical properties to wheat grown with their ap¬ 
plication. These' properties are usually considered desirable if the 
nitrate is not added in too large quantities. The following analyses 
are given to show to what extent the chemical composition was affect¬ 
ed, and also to show why we omitted them from the samples taken as 
representative of our wheats. The reason, for the present time at 
least, may be stated to be that they are quite different from the average 
of wheats grown without it. The statement of the analyses will show 
how different they are, and to what extent the composition of the wheat 
responds to the application of various amounts of this salt. The re¬ 
sults in this respect increase with the amount applied, but the effect 
produced is not proportional to the amount, i.e., the minimum amount 
produces a certain result; three times this amount will not necessarily 
produce three times this effect, it may be more or less than three times. 
The same is true of the physical characteristics of the berries, the 
larger amounts showing a strong tendency to produce shrunken berries. 
