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rass growing for profit.A short compila

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EAA CME

GRASS GROWING

FOR PROFIT

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Edited and Published by
WILLIAM S. MYERS, D.Sc., F.C.S., Director-in-Chief
Chilean Nitrate Committee
Late of New Jersey State Agricultural College
25 Madison Avenue, New York

GRASS GROWING
FOR PROFIT

A Short Compilation of Experimental
Work on the Effects of Nitrate
of Soda on Hay Crops

Including Some Directions for the Preparation
of Land and Harvesting the Crop

and

Results at Highland Experimental Farms
New York

Edited and Published by
WILLIAM S. MYERS, D.Sc., F.C.S., Director-in-Chief
Chilean Nitrate Committee
Late of New Jersey State Agricultural College

25 Madison Avenue, New York

TALLTOL © Rope gy

$5191

BR SPOS oF OS OT eg aee 2290S SS SESS SS LS BSP SSIS LOL C6 SUZ S St Oz

1. Product of one square foot 2. Product of one square foot
of ground in field yielding over of ground in adjoining field (not
three tons per acre of cured fertilized with Nitrate of Soda)
timothy hay fertilized with yielding one ton per acre of cured
Nitrate of Soda. hay.

Highland Experimental Farms, New York

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

Approximately sixty millions of tons of timothy
hay are grown every year in the United States on
about forty millions of acres of meadow-land. Be-
ginning at the seaboard and going west, the chief
hay-producing states are: New York, Pennsylvania,
Missouri, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wiscon-
sin, Iowa and Kansas. New York alone has nearly
five millions of acres on which is produced upwards
of six millions of tons of hay. These ten states,
which may be said to constitute the Hay Belt of the
United States, have a total of 30,000,000 acres on
which were lately grown 45,000,000 tons of hay.
These figures are mentioned to show the magnitude
of our grass-growing industry. Of course, grass is
grown more or less extensively in all of the states,
but the states mentioned are the leaders and produce
the great bulk of our annual crop of timothy hay.

Timothy and related grasses feed heavily on Ni-
trogen; they are able to transform it completely into
wholesome and digestible animal food. When full
rations of plant food are present a good crop of grass
will remove about the equivalent of two of the active
fertilizer ingredients of 150 pounds of Nitrate of
Soda and 150 pounds of phosphate. These amounts
are recommended to be applied per acre as top-
dressing for old grass lands where grass fertiliza-
tion is well understood and practiced. Grass lands
get sour easily, especially when very old, and
when they do, one ton of lime per acre may be har-

rowed in before seeding down anew. The seeding
[3]

4 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

should be done before September, and the above-
mentioned ration should be used as a top-dressing
the following spring, as soon as the grass begins to
show growth.

If all the conditions are favorable, from three or
five tons of clean barn-cured hay, free from weeds,
may reasonably be expected. When grass crops are
heavy and run as high as four and one-half or more
tons per acre field-cured, it is safe to allow 20 per

Clearing Land for Seeding.

cent. shrinkage in weight for seasoning and drying
down to a barn-cured basis. Nitrate of Soda, the
chief constituent of the prescribed ration, pushes the
grass early and enables it to get ahead of all weeds,
and the crop then feeds profitably and fully on the
other manurial constituents present in the fertilizer
mentioned in the formula and present in the soil.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 5

Nitrate can sometimes be used alone for a season
or two and at very great profit, but a full grass ra-
tion is better in the long run for both the soil and
crop. Generally speaking, 100 pounds of Nitrate, if
used under proper conditions, will produce an in-
crease of from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds of barn-cured,
clean timothy hay. It pays well to use Nitrate liber-
ally on grass lands.

A reliable, heavy Top-Dressing formula for
Grass Lands per acre:

100 lbs. Nitrate of Soda alone
or preferably

150 lbs. Nitrate of Soda.

150 lbs. Acid Phosphate.

50 lbs. Sulphate of Potash every other year.

What Percentage of Water Does Hay Lose During
Storage?

Hay which had been stored during the summer
was removed from the mow the following February,
and found to’ contain 12.21 per cent. of water. A
careful comparison of other moisture determinations
of hay leads to the conclusion that 12.21 is a fair
general average of the percentage of water in the
best quality of barn-cured hay. When hay is first
stored it usually contains from 20 to 28 per cent. of
moisture. The loss in storage may be said to be
about 12 to 16 per cent.

It may not be out of place here to

eae oe q mention the fact that Mr. Clark’s suc-

in Clark’s cess in obtaining remarkably large

Coe. yields of hay for a number of years,
ultivation.

an average of nine tons of cured hay
per acre for eleven years in succession, has been

6 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

heralded throughout the United States. He attrib-
utes his success largely to the liberal dressings of
Nitrate of Soda which he invariably applies to his
fields early in the spring, and which start the grass
off with such a vigorous growth as to shade and
crowd out all noxious weeds before they get fairly

Types of Characteristic Rock Shattering (1).
Preparing Land for Seeding.

started and which result in a large crop of clean and
high-priced hay.
It is also known that many who
How Careful have tested his methods have met
Cultivation with failure chiefly because they ne-
May Aid in :
the Profitable glected to supply the young grass
Use of Nitrate. plants with a sufficient amount of
readily available food for their use

early in the spring when it is most needed, before

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 7

the organic forms of Nitrogen, which exist in the
soil only in an insoluble form which -cannot be
utilized by the plants as food, can be converted into
soluble Nitrates by the action of bacteria in the soil.
This does not occur to any great extent until the soil
warms up to summer temperature when it is too late
in the season to benefit the crop’s early spring
growth,

Types of Characteristic Rock Shattering (2).

It is important that we always bear in mind the
fact that our only source of Nitrogen in the soil for
all plants is the remnants of former crops (roots,
stems, dead leaves, weeds, etc.) in different stages
of decomposition, and that in the early spring there
is always a scarcity of Nitrogen in the soil in an
available form, for the reason that the most of that
which was converted into soluble forms by the
action of the soil bacteria during the warm summer
months of the previous year was either utilized by

8 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

the plants occupying the ground at that time or has
been washed down below the reach of the roots of
the young plants by the melting snow and the heavy
rains of late winter and early spring.

When we consider the fact that most plants re-
quire and take up about 75 per cent. of their total

Dynamite.

Nitrate Ammoniate during the earlier stages of their
growth and that Nitrogen is the element most largely
entering into the building up of the life principle
(or protoplasm) of all plants, it is plain that we can-
not afford to jeopardize the chances of growing crops
by having only an insufficient supply of immediately
available Nitrogen when it is most needed.

In the case of hay, from timothy
and other grasses, the experiments
that have been conducted answer the first question

Hay

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 9

-—* What shall I use ””— as follows: Use Nitrate of
Soda, because it is a food element that is especially
needed; it is soluble in water and can be immediately
taken up by the plants and supplies them with that
which they need at the time they need it —it can

Same Rock Shattered by the Explosion of Dynamite.

be used by them early in the spring before other
forms of applied Nitrogen are usable and before other
soil supplies are available. The results of experi-
ments conducted through a period of nine years,
and in different sections of the state, show that upon
soils which will produce crops ranging from one to
three tons per acre, a gain in yield of from 9 to 54
per cent., or an average increase of 32.7 per cent.,
may be expected from the use of from 100 to 150

10 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

pounds per acre, which would show an average gain
in yield of 654 pounds per acre; based on the aver-
age yield of 1.25 tons per acre, the gain would be
820 pounds. This increase, at an average price of
$12 per ton, would mean about $5 per acre, or $2
more than the cost of the material. A very satisfac-
tory profit, when it is remembered that it is obtained
at the same cost of Jabor and of capital invested in
land.

According to experiments in Rhode
Island, soils are less exhausted when
complete fertilizers are used with Nitrate than when
no Nitrate is used. The soda always left behind
after the Nitrate of Soda is used up aids the lime
and potash, and unlocks the soil silicates and
thereby frees potash, lime and magnesia. The feed-
ing value of hay is far greater when Nitrate is used
as a fertilizer in this connection.

Grass.

Practical Conclusions.

The application should be in the

Cob ae form of a Top-Dressing, applied very

early in the spring in order that the

first growth may find readily available material for

its support and be carried through the season with
no check from partial starvation.

On land which shows any tendency to sourness,
a ton to the acre of slaked lime should be used every
five or six years. This makes the land sweet and

promotes the growth of grass plants of the best
kinds.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 11

Lime should be sown upon the furrows and har-
rowed into the soil. Top-dressing with lime after
seeding will not answer, and, in the case of very
acid soils, the omission of lime at the proper time
will necessitate re-seeding to secure a good stand
of grass.

Clearing Land for Grass Growing.

All the elements of fertility are

Economical essential so that ordinarily complete
Ss Profitable +. -tilizers may be used, Nitrate being

ractice.

used as a Top-Dresser, though on

some soils rich in phosphoric acid or potash, one or
both of these ingredients may be used in small quan-
tity. This is particularly true of phosphates after
lime has been applied to the soil, since lime aids to

12 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

set the phosphoric acid free from its natural insoluble
combinations.

Grass seems to demand less phosphoric acid than
was applied in the test; but it responds with increas-
ing profit to applications of Nitrate of Soda up to
200 pounds to the acre when potash and phosphates
are present in abundant available forms.

Preparing Land after Clearing and Plowing for Grass
Growing.

Clearing and Reclaiming Lands.

In recent years, dynamite has come to be gen-
erally used for the preliminary clearing and reclaim-
ing of land, and especially for the shattering and pul-
verizing of rocks and the removal of stumps. Mod-
ern tools and machinery, such as the disk-harrow and

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 13

leveler and improved plows and scrapers, permit the
preparation of land on the Atlantic Seaboard fully
as workable, and as convenient in every way for the
best improved heavy hay and harvesting machinery
as is the case of lands of the Mississippi Basin. These
remarks apply also to land adapted to general use as
well as to farming.

A Mixing Plant with Grinding Machine for Chemical
, Fertilizers.

Almost every farmer should be able to clear
from five to thirty acres of such land, and he may
become an effective competitor of the more favored
western producer to a greater extent than ever
before, if he chooses.

In the preparation of both old and new lands for
grass, thorough tillage is desirable, and the surface

14 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

of the ground should be well smoothed, in order that
modern machinery may be operated successfully and
economically. This remark applies especially to
New York and Pennsylvania and to New England,
where the character of the country is largely rolling
and frequently rocky. Thousands of acres of virgin
land remain in these states to be reclaimed for culti-
vation. From the standpoint of proximity to good
markets, such lands should well repay the cost of
clearing, if it be thoroughly done. Such a plan, with
modern facilities, offers to the farmer in these states,
an opportunity to increase his acreage and the pro-
ductive capacity of his farm. This means an added
value to every farmer’s holding.

Photographs are shown in the text of the clear-
ing of land for grass-seeding, including the removal
of timber; and, secondly, the shattering of rocks by
means of dynamite. Usually one pound of 40 per
cent. dynamite will throw a large stump and will
shatter a large rock in sufficiently small pieces to
remove by wagon or stone-boat. After the land is
cleared, the disk-harrow and leveler should be used
to pulverize the soil and kill the weeds. Several har-
rowings are usually necessary for this purpose. Dur-
ing such harrowing, the mineral fertilizers and liming
may be applied. Nitrate of Soda should not be used
until the following Spring, and on new seeding 100
pounds to the acre of Nitrate of Soda as a top-dress-
ing is all that should be used the first season. This
applies, however, only to the first year of the new
seeding. Afterwards, 200 pounds of Nitrate may be
used, provided adequate mineral applications of phos-
phate and potash are made also.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 15

When Nitrate is used alone as a top-dressing —
that is, unless the minerals have been previously
applied — 100 pounds per acre is enough; but it
should be remembered that to make as small an appli-
cation as 100 pounds per acre requires considerable
care, the tendency being, unless such care is exer-
cised, to make the application unnecessarily heavier
with consequent possible loss of profit.

A Nitrate Distributor for Top-Dressing, in Use.

Nitrate can sometimes be used alone at very
great profit and, especially on old meadows, fre-
quently the production of hay can be very mate-
rially increased. In the long run a full ration of
the minerals is better for both the soil and the crop.
Generally speaking, in the Hay Belt of the United

16 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

States, two crops of grass can be grown at a profit
every year.

Immediately after harvesting the first crop, the
minerals and Nitrate should be applied, and a satis-

Whole Field, except Center, Fertilized with Fourteen Per Cent. Acid
Phosphate, Six Hundred Pounds; Sulphate of Potash, Two
Hundred Pounds; Nitrate of Soda, Two Hundred
Pounds; yield, three tons cured hay per acre.

Square in Center of Field had Six Hundred Pounds Acid Phosphate,
and Two Hundred Pounds Sulphate of Potash, but No Nitrate
of Soda; yield, one ton cured hay per acre.

Highland Experimental ‘Farms, New York.

factory formula is as follows. This applies to inten-
sive practice:

100 Ibs. Nitrate of Soda.
100 lbs. acid phosphate.

The illustrations shown in the text are intended
to include the whole operation of the preparation and

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 17

seeding of grass-lands, the application of fertilizers,
the cutting and harvesting and storing of hay and
preparation of the same for market. The photo-
graphs are taken from actual operations in the field
and are intended to give a complete outline of the
whole industry of grass growing. The machinery
and tools have been found to be very satisfactory and
to do their work thoroughly in every respect.

The Tedders follow the Mowing Machines for rapid curing
of heavy crops of hay.

HIGHLAND FARMS.

The average yields, at Highland Experimental
Farms, per acre of field-cured hay on the uplands
were as follows for 1905:

No Nitrate, 3,180 pounds per acre.

Where 200 pounds of Nitrate was used, 8,340
pounds per acre.

18 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

The average yields on the lowlands were as
follows:

No Nitrate, 6,985 pounds per acre.

Where 200 pounds of Nitrate was used, 8,712
pounds per acre.

In the season of 1906 the average yields per acre
of field-cured hay on the uplands were as follows:

No Nitrate, 3,200 pounds per acre.

168 Pounds Nitrate, 6,240 pounds per acre.

The average yields per acre of field-cured hay on
the lowlands were as follows:

No Nitrate, 5,920 pounds per acre.

112 pounds Nitrate, 8,030 pounds per acre.

Comparison of Yields.

Uplands.
Season
1905. No Nitrate, 3,180 lbs.; 200 lbs. Nitrate, 8,340
lbs.
1906. No Nitrate, 3,200 lbs.; 168 lbs. Nitrate, 6,240
lbs.
Lowlands.
Season
1905. No Nitrate, 6,985 lbs.; 200 lbs. Nitrate, 8,712
lbs.
1906. No Nitrate, 5,920 lbs.; 112 lbs. Nitrate, 8,030
lbs.

Yield of original “ No Nitrate” plot in four-acre
field of timothy and Red Top— Season of 1906,
1,760 pounds; Season of 1905, 3,180 pounds.

Note.— Yields are much lower for 1906 than for 1905,
owing to smaller applications of Nitrate and also to the fact

that there was much less rainfall during the latter part of the
growing season.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 19

Seeding Full of Daisies, Seeding of Clear Timothy,
not Nitrated. Nitrated.

New York Rules for Grading.

Established by the
New York Hay Exchange Association (Incorporated).

Prime Hay: Shall be pure timothy, properly
cured, bright, natural color, sound and well baled.

No. 1 Hay: Shall be timothy, not more than
one-eighth (1%) mixed with other tame grasses,
properly cured, bright color, sweet, sound and well
baled.

No. 2 Hay: Shall include all timothy not good
enough for No. 1, fair in color, proportionately mixed
with other tame grasses, sweet, sound and well baled.

20 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

No. 3 Hay: Shall include all hay not good
enough for other grades, not over one-third (13)
clover, but may be natural meadow, free from wild
or bog, sweet, sound and well baled.

Shipping Hay: Shall consist of hay not good
enough for No. 3, sound and well baled.

Crop of Grass Grown by Nitrate Top-Dressing.

No Grade Hay: Shall include all hay badly cured,
stained, threshed or in any way unsound.

No. 1 Packing Hay: Shall consist of all fine
grasses, of good color, free from flag and thistles,
sound and well baled.

Fancy Clover Mixed Hay: Shall be bright,
green, colored timothy and clover of medium growth,

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 21

containing not over one-third (‘/;) clover, sound and
well baled.

No. 1 Clover Mixed Hay: Shall be timothy and
clover mixed, with at least one-half (12) timothy,
good color, sound and well baled.

Crop of Grass Grown by Nitrate Top-Dressing.

No. 2 Clover Mixed Hay: Shall be timothy and
clover mixed, with at least one-third (4g) timothy,
sound and well baled.

No. 1 Clover Hay: Shall be bright, medium
growth clover, sound and well baled.

No. 2 Clover Hay: Shall be clover of fair color,

sound and well baled.
No. 1 Rye Straw: Shall be bright, clean, long

22 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

rye straw, pressed in bundles in large or upright
pressed bales, sound and well baled.

No. 2 Rye Straw: Shall be clean, long rye straw,
of fair color, pressed in bundles in large or upright
pressed bales, sound and well baled.

No. 1 Tangled Rye Straw: Shall be bright,
clean straw, of fair length, sound and well baled.

No. 2 Tangled Rye Straw: Shall be reasonably
clean, fair color, sound and well baled.

No. 1 Oat Straw: Shall be clean, bright, oat
straw, of fair length, practically free from chaff and
thistles, sound and well baled.

No. 1 Wheat Straw: Shall be bright, clean
straw, of fair length, sound and well baled.

CORNELL UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL EXPERI-
MENT STATION.

Bulletin 232.

The most important result as shown, both in the
growing crop and in the weights of hay was the

1. Without Nitrogen. 2. 1, Ration of Nitrogen. 3. Full Ration of Nitro-

gen. All three fertilized alike with muriate of potash and ph 2
R. I. Bul. 103. P phosphate.

influence of the Nitrate of Soda. In every instance
where Nitrate of Soda was applied a marked increase
in the vigor of growth as well as in the weight of

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 23

hay was produced. The influence of the phosphoric
acid and potash was much less marked in all in-
stances. When Nitrate of Soda was. doubled with-
out increasing the acid phosphate or the muriate of
potash the apparent increase in yield was more than
doubled, but when the phosphoric acid was doubled
without increasing the Nitrate of Soda or the muriate
of potash the yield was decreased. (See cut on pre-
ceding page.)

RHODE ISLAND EXPERIMENT STATION.

Bulletin 104.

“ Some readers of this Bulletin will recall the rabid attacks
upon Experiment Station chemists made a few years ago in
the agricultural press by the late Andrew H. Ward, of Boston,
in which he denounced the chemists for not giving the same
recognition to soda as to potash as a manure, upon the ground
of its alleged ability to replace potash in plant production.
To such as may have known of those published criticisms, the
verdict against the equality of soda in plant production
returned in this experiment by the plants themselves, ought
to remove any further doubt concerning the merits of the
case. It can not be disputed, however, that soda is of some
use in some manner with many varieties of plants, when the
supply of potash is quite limited, and also with at least a few
varieties of plants even in the presence of a fairly abundant
supply of potash. Whether sodium salts would be rendered
useless with all varieties of plants if the supply of potassium
salts were greatly increased is a point which is not as yet
fully proved, nor is it fully clear as yet in just what manner
the sodium salt has been helpful in this particular experiment.
This is a question which will be considered later in connection
with the chemical analyses of the crops. It may, however, be
stated here that sodium salts seem to liberate at least phos-
phoric acid and potash, so that under certain circumstances
they may act as indirect manures. They also appear under

24 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

Two Horse Hay Tedder, ready to operate.

certain conditions to prevent plants from assimilating large
amounts of potash in excess of their needs, thereby conserv-
ing the potash supply within the soil. It does not appear
unlikely, when the supply of potash is limited, that sodium
salts may aid in some degree in performing some function of
potassium.”

The After-Effect of Sodium and Potassium Salts.

(From Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin, No. 106,
May, 1905.)

This experiment was a continuation of tests
upon the same forty-eight plots upon which annual
applications of sodium and potassium salts had been
made since 1894.

In 1902, 1903, and 1904 no further applications
of sodium or potassium salts were made, but each

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 25

plot continued to receive annual applications of phos-
phoric acid and Nitrogen. Where the large applica-
tions of potassium salts had been made previously,
it was found that timothy and clover were much
better able to persist than elsewhere. The influence
of the previous applications of potassium salts still

A Side-delivery Rake in Operation.
Highland Experimental Farms, New York.

continued in a most striking manner even the third
year, in all cases where large amounts were used at
that time as was fully demonstrated by the much
greater yields of hay.

Considerable evidence was afforded that the
earlier applications of sodium salts were now helpful
by way of increasing the crops of hay in those cases
where the previous applications of potassium salts
had been large. It seems possible that this may

26 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

have been due, in part at least, to the retention 1n
the soil of a part of the previous applications of
potassium salts, by virtue of extra soda having been
taken up by the preceding crops in the place of super-
fluous potash, whereby the potash supply in the soil
was really conserved.

Whole Field, except center, Fertilized with Fourteen Per Cent. Acid
Phosphate, Six Hundred Pounds; Sulphate of Potash, Two
Hundred Pounds; Nitrate of Soda, Two Hundred
Pounds; yield, three tons per acre of cured hay.

Square in Center of Field had Six Hundred Pounds Acid Phosphate,
and Two Hundred Pounds Sulphate of Potash, but No Nitrate
of Soda; yield, one ton per acre of cured hay.

Highland Experimental Farms, New York.

Owing to the marked peculiarities of different
varieties of plants, it was not expected that direct
manurial benefit to the grass would necessarily result
from the use of the sodium salts [other than the
Nitrate] even if such a direct effect might possibly
occur in the growth of radishes, beets, turnips, and
certain other plants.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 27

AMERICAN HAY JOURNAL.
Timothy and Mixed Hay.
Their Comparative Value.

Timothy has the advantage of being more easily
cured and much less subject to dust and mould than
clover. It is specially adapted to driving horses and

Plot ready for Record of Weights to be Taken.
Highland Experimental Farms, New York.

those which do severe work, as it furnishes a large
amount of crude fibre, a requisite necessary where
horses are fed a heavy grain ration. It does not
possess the laxative properties of clover, and too
laxative a condition is more likely to occur in such
animals than in those doing light work or at rest.
Being less palatable than clover, there is less danger

28 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

from overfeeding, which often occurs on the farm
where the feeding is done by hired help.

Clover must be fed in limited amounts to horses
for satisfactory results; if not, a horse is likely to
gorge himself with it, which will interfere with free
respiration. When fed freely it also furnishes more
protein than is needed, and this surplus must be ex-
creted by the kidneys, which may overtax these

L

The Loader is of great service in handling hay quickly.

organs. Dusty hay, if fed for any considerable length
of time, is very likely to interfere with respiration
and finally causes heaves. As clover is much more
subject to dust than timothy it has prejudiced many
men from ever feeding it to their horses.

Mixed hay may run largely to clover or contain
but a sprinkle. Pure timothy being more easily
recognized and graded, it has established a prestige
with city team owners and consequently they will
usually buy nothing but choice timothy or upland
prairie hay.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 29

General Directions for the Use of Nitrate of Soda on
Seeded Crops.

The use of Nitrate of Soda alone is never recom-
mended, except, at the rate of not more than one
hundred pounds to the acre. It may be thus safely
and profitably used without other fertilizers. It may
be applied at this rate as a Top-Dressing in the spring

717 716 715
No treatment. 320 lbs. Acid Phosphate. 160 lbs. Nitrate
2200 Ibs. hay 160 lbs. Nitrate of Soda. of Soda.
per acre. 8840 lbs. hay per acre. 3550 Ibs. hay
per acre.

Fig. 18.— These plats show in a very marked way the influence of
Nitrate of Soda on the yield of hay. (Cornell Univ. Bulletin No. 232.)

of the year, as soon as vegetation begins to turn
green; or, in other words, as soon as the crops begin
new growth. At this rate very satisfactory results
are usually obtained without the use of any other
fertilizer, and the Soda residual, after the nitroge-
nous ammoniate food of this chemical is used up
by the plant, has a perceptible effect in sweetening
sour land.

In most of our grass experiments where Nitrate
was used alone at the rate of but one hundred pounds

30 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

per acre, not only was the aftermath, or rowen, much
improved, but in the subsequent seasons, with noth-
ing applied to the plots, a decidedly marked effect
was noticed, even on old meadows. This speaks very

Hay Caps for Protecting Hay While Curing.

well indeed for Nitrate of Soda not leaching out of
the soil. The readily soluble elements are the readily
available elements. The natural capillarity of soils
doubtless is, in most instances, a powerful factor in
retaining all readily soluble elements of fertility both
during and after the season of growth.

If this were not so, all the fertility of the world
in our humid regions would, in a season or two, run
into the ocean, and be permanently lost.

This is mentioned on account of certain critics
having taken the trouble to object to the use of
Nitrate on the grounds that it would leach away.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 31

A case is yet to be seen where the after-effects of
Nitrate are not distinguishable, and, in certain cases,
such effects have been most marked.

TABLE SHOWING PRICES OF NITRATE OF SODA
ON THE AMMONIATE BASIS

Figured on basis 380 lbs. Ammonia in one ton of
Nitrate of Soda

Price Equivalent Equivalent

Price per Price per Ammonia Price Cost of

Cwt. of Ton of per lb. as Ammonia Nitrogen
Nitrate Nitrate Nitrate per ton Unit per lb.
$1.80 $36.00 0.095 $1.90 $0.115
1.85 37.00 0.097 1.94 0.118
1.90 38.00 0.100 2.00 0.122
1.95 39.00 0.103 2.06 0.125
3 2.00 40.00 0.105 2.10 0.128
2.05 41.00 0.108 2.16 0.131
2.10 42.00 0.111 2.22 0.134
2.15 43.00 0.113 2.26 0.137
2.20 44.00 0.116 2.32 0.140
2.25 45.00 0.118 2.36 0.144
2.30 46.00 0.121 2.42 0.147
2.35 47.00 0.124 2.48 0.150
2.40 48.00 0.126 2.52 0.153
2.45 49.00 0.129 2.58 0.156
2.50 50.00 0.132 2.64 0.159
2.55 51.00 0.134 2.68 0.162
2.60 52.00 0.137 2.74 0.165
2.65 53.00 0.140 2.80 0.168
2.70 54.00 0.143 2.86 0.173
2.75 55.00 0.145 2.90 0.174
2.80 56.00 0.147 2.94 0.177
2.85 57.00 0.150 3.00 0.180
2.90 58.00 0.152 3.04 0.183
2.95 59.00 0.155 3.10 0.186
3.00 60.00 0.157 3.14 0.189
3.15 63.00 0.165 3.30 0.198
3.20 64.00 0.168 3.36 0.201
3.25 65.00 0.171 3.42 0.204
3.30 66.00 0.173 3.46 0.207
3.35 67.00 0.176 3.52 0.210
3.40 68.00 0.178 3.56 0.214
3.45 69.00 0.181 3.62 0.216
3.50 70.00 0.184 3.68 0.219

3.55 71.00 0.186 3.72 0.222

32 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

This table enables one to compare commercial
quotations with accuracy. The figures themselves
are not quotations in any sense of the word, and all
the figures of the table refer to only one grade of
Nitrate of Soda, namely: that containing 15.65 per
cent. of Nitrogen.

THE COST OF NITRATE OF SODA, ITS USE MORE
PROFITABLE THAN EVER

The steady upward movement in prices of
Nitrate of Soda has been attracting widespread atten-
tion, and the uninterrupted gradual rise in prices is
warranted, based on solid facts which govern the
industry. Labor troubles and the extra cost of pro-
duction, together with the steady increase in the con-
sumption, have been and are factors in the situation.
The increase in the consumption in this country has
been heavy.

The consumption all over the world for agricul-
tural purposes has expanded at a very great rate
lately, and perhaps more particularly in this country
in the cotton belt than anywhere else. Production
is likely to expand so as to fully meet the fresh
demand as rapidly as the supply of labor can be pro-
vided for on the west coast of Chile.

Many observers of the ammoniate market for
the past years have asserted that there are not
enough ammoniates annually produced to meet the
consumptive requirements, and the tendency on the
part of some fertilizer manufacturers is to make
lower grade goods as to Nitrogen; a policy which
seem to have an invariably disastrous effect on those
who follow it.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 33

It is proper to observe also that all the nitrogen
in Nitrate of Soda is available. In the other ammoni-
ates generally quoted the nitrogen is, of course, not
completely available from an agricultural standpoint
even though some may be soluble in water.

Process of Stacking Hay.

34 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

Nitrate always pays handsomely on hay, and
one hundred pounds per acre alone is a very effective
application. Even at the present prices for Nitrate,
one hundred pounds without the use of any other
fertilizer, will produce an increased yield of more
than half a ton of barn-cured hay. The use of
Nitrate on this crop promises to be very remunera-
tive.

Stack Cover or Barrack for Hay. In use in New Jersey.

Whilst the price of Nitrate of Soda per ton may
seem relatively high, its value should be judged by
the 100 per cent availability of its Nitrogen — that
is to say, all the Nitrogen in Nitrate of Soda is
usable. All other forms must first be nitrated.

This may be illustrated by comparing gold ores
of the same percentages derived from different
sources — one gold ore containing ten ounces to the

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 35

ton might be worth a great deal of money per ton —
that is to say, if the ore were extractable with ease
and without undue expense -— whereas another ten-
ounce ore might contain its gold in such form as to
be extracted only with great difficulty and at great

Hay Pressing in Operation.

expense. The plant food of Nitrate of Soda is all
usable by the plant. It is already cooked. It needs no
further preparation for the plant’s use, as do all nitro-
gens which are raw compared to Nitrate of Soda.

The price per ton of a fertilizer is not, by itself,
a sufficient guide for accurately judging its value for

crops.

36 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

What Nitrate 4gricultural authorities have estab-
Has Done lished by careful experimentation
For Crops. that 100 pounds of Nitrate of Soda

when applied to the following crops
has produced under proper conditions increased
yields as tabulated:

Applesii.5sacccecnesaew es ....... 50-75 bushels
Apricots...... eto Nd a Gucelesrage es 96 Ibs.
As paracus: so0cn 6dus seed ee kee ee 100 bunches
Bananas............... , . 1,167 Ibs.
Barley.......... : ere 400 Ibs. of grain
Beans (white) ; reat ces 225 Ibs.
Beets....... 25 _.... 4,900 Ibs. tubers
Cabbages..... sem atte esl coer) Bop OOZIDSs
Carrots...... cohen ays Bi . 7,800 Ibs.
Castor Beans... : 50 Ibs.
Celery........ nee ; 30 per cent.
Gorn es ciA Bes : 280 Ibs. of grain
Cotton....... te ees: : 500 Ibs. seed cotton
Ensilage Corn. : SANG 1.18 tons
Grape Fruit.... : : 29 boxes
Hay, upwards of. 1,009 Ibs. barn cured
HOpSes eis cea : : 100 Ibs.
Mangels.......... . 123.7 bushels
Oatsirsa. cess ores : : 400 Ibs. of grain
Onions....... : 1,800 Ibs.
Oranges.... : 22 boxes
Peaches (dried) ee ened 56 lbs.
Pecans....... Deg eg en ae Sete tee a 37 Ibs.
Potatoes...... Read ree Re ee 3,690 Ibs. tubers
Prunes....... me : 975 lbs. (dried)
Raisin Grapes........ ‘ 347 Ibs.
Rye...... mete 5: 300 Ibs. grain
Strawberries........ ; 200 quarts
Sugar Beets yok Teri rete sent eet 1,330 Ibs.
Sugar Cane aes aad 2.40 tons of cane (Tropics)
= Seer en eaten d aici eee : 1.17 tons of cane (Louisiana)
Sugar (from Sugar Cane) soe 322 lbs. (Tropics)
a ee ee re snared Aapers 224 Ibs. (Louisiana)
Sugar Mangels........ . 1.6 tons
Sweet Potatoes..... ; ; 3,900 Ibs. tubers
Tobacco. . : . eee 75 Ibs.
Tomatoes..... eieat : ; 100 baskets
Turnips... dilate: ouPautven asd Riel a Bs 37 per cent.

Walnuts ig ea 106 Ibs.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 37

INCREASED YIELD BY THE USE OF NITRATE OF
SODA.

The increased yields of crops resulting from a
top-dressing with Nitrate of Soda are most striking.
In an article recently published by Dr. E. J. Russell,
Director of the Rothamsted Experimental Station,
the following figures are given. On an ordinary
farm where the land, while in fairly good heart, has
not been over well done, a farmer may reasonably
expect the following increases from a top-dressing
of 1 cwt. of Nitrate of Soda:

Per 1 cwt. super-
Per 1 cwt. nitrate phosphate or
of soda high grade
basic slag
Wheat, grain...............| 43 bushels........ 0 to 1; bushels
Wheat, straw............... 5 cwt. Ren er ea 1 to 5 ewt.
Barley, grain.............. 63 bushels... 2 to 3 bushels
Barley, straw............... 61 cwt.. ...| 0 to 2 cwt.
Oats, grain.................] 7 ‘pushels. .| 1 to 33 bushels
Oats, straw.................| 6 cwt.. : _....| 0 to 2 ewt.
THA 550, scarce tao kn eaata gece 8 to 10 cwt.. neal! a hee
Mangolds.................. 32 cwt. ........| 20 ewt.
Swedes.....................] 20 ewt...............| 20 to 40 ewt.
Potatoes cca esse sss Sees ek Sees | LONE What oasnes ek 2A os 10 cwt.

For purposes of comparison the effect of phos-
phates is shown also. ,

It should be remembered that plants take up
most of their Nitrogen during the early period of
their growth.

Nitrate cannot take the place of intelligent soil
management which includes proper cultivation.

Chilean Nitrate never leaves the soils in an acid
condition and there is no harsh and unwholesome

38 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

mineral acid residue left in soils after the use of
Nitrate.

It is now known that there is not as much danger
of it being leached out of the soil by the rains
during the growing season as has been generally
believed, since the rains seldom reach lower than
the bottom of the furrow, and the movement of the
soil moisture is vertical and not horizontal. How-
ever, soil moisture is strongly held by good soils by
capillary attraction.

Pressing Hay. Process Interrupted.

Nitrate of Soda looks somewhat like common
dairy salt, and horses, cows and Sheep, if they can
get to it, may eat it to an injurious extent.

The emptied bags, especially in damp weather,
have more or less Nitrate adhering to them. After

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 39

emptying, it is a good plan to soak in water, which
will make an excellent liquid manure, say one empty
bag to a barrel of water.

If lumpy, the Nitrate should be broken up fine,
which is easily done by pounding it on the barn floor
with the back of a spade or shovel, or by a hand
grinding machine made especially for farm mixing.

Nitrate of Soda, unlike sulphate of ammonia,
dried blood and complete mixed fertilizers, can be
mixed with lime or ashes without loss of Nitrogen.

PROOF POSITIVE.

In a twenty year test to determine the value of
various sources of Nitrogen, the New Jersey Experi-
ment Station found ‘that crop yields and the per-
centage of Nitrogen recovered in the crop were
greater when Nitrates were used.”

The official figures are —

“Tf we assign to Nitrate Nitrogen a value of i100, then
the relative availability of the four materials stands as

follows”:

INitrate-O£ S Oda swwtesi: poms nee oe etwas 100.0
Amimoniuin Sulfate 220: 22 ee esses eas 76.1
DICE ERO OG andes otters a deers cae eae ee ena 62.0
Wan Ure uarces ernest A uci ee rere ARS 52.4

This research entitled “Twenty Years’ Work on the Avail-
ability of Nitrogen in Nitrate of Soda, Ammonium Sulfate,
Dried Blood and Farm Manures,” was published in “Soil
Science,” April, 1918, by J. G. Lipman and A. W. Blair.

40 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

SOME NOTES ABOUT SOIL EXHAUSTION

In reference to the belief held by some farmers
as to exhaustion of lands by the use of fertilizers,
continuous use of Nitrate of Soda, acid phosphate
and potash for twenty-five years in England by Sir
J. B. Lawes on land showed no signs of exhaustion
whatever. Crops at the end of the period were as
big as at the beginning.

As a matter of fact the use of fertilizers does not
exhaust soils since a crop grown with fertilizer takes
a less amount of vitality out of the soil than does a
crop without fertilizer. What exhausts a soil most
is the attempt to grow crops without fertilizers. It
is without doubt better and more economical to feed
the plant than the soil.

Lawes concluded many years since that Nitrate
was better for potatoes than salts of ammonia.

According to Stutzer, Nitrate renders mineral
plant foods more valuable. Nitrate without doubt
promotes the best utilization of acid phosphate, and
the presence of nitrate favors nitration. The organic
matter of the soil is utilized more readily when
Nitrate is present. All the mineral and nitrogenous
substances required by crops must be present ina soil
in order that a succession of crops may be grown at
a profit. Nitrate of Soda really changes the raw
material of the soil into a crop with the greatest
amount of profit. Nitrate is also a means of pre-
venting the growth of parasites and pests. Crops
grown with it resist attacks of parasites better than
without it. The soluble carbo-hydrate and the albu-
minoids are also increased in crops by the use of

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 41

Nitrate of Soda. The amount of green matter and
starch grains in the leaves of the crops grown by the
aid of Nitrate of Soda are increased over those grown
with any other nitrogenous fertilizer. When Nitrate
of Soda is used early the harvest of all the crops is
fully two weeks earlier than when grown with other
forms of nitrogenous fertilizers. Potasium nitrate is
a good fertilizer for tobacco, increasing the growth
of the leaf and its burning properties. It is cheaper
to use sodium nitrate than potassium nitrate for
potatoes and equally good. With sodium nitrate
plants do well during their entire period of growth
when it is put on at the right time, preferably before
planting or seeding and not later than in the early
stages of growth.

SUGGESTIONS FOR PROSPECTIVE USERS OF
CHILEAN NITRATE.

The Chilean Nitrate Committee is not engaged
in the sale of Nitrate of Soda. Addresses of dealers
are enclosed herewith. This office has no agencies.

Please mention this office when writing to
dealers. Be sure to ask for genuine Chilean Nitrate
of Soda.

Prices of Nitrate of Soda. When asking dealers
for prices, please state the amount of Nitrate you
wish quoted. The price depends, to an extent, upon
the quantity purchased — the price of a ton being
lower in proportion than the price of smaller lots.

Nitrate should be kept in a dry place. Glass and
dynamite manufacturers usually have Nitrate on
hand. It is not a substitute for common salt for any

42 GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT

purpose. It is not to be fed to cattle or sheep or
horses any more than acid phosphate or potash
salts.

The crystals of Nitrate of Soda vary somewhat
in color, from brown to white, or gray.

Order as early in the season as possible, and
apply it early for best results.

Nitrate is not to be put on wet foliage, and it is
to be applied evenly. Both these precautions will
enable you to avoid all danger of burning or destroy-
ing vegetation.

Your farmer or your gardener may be accus-
tomed to use barn yard manure at the rate of a pound
to a square foot. No commercial fertilizer should be
put on any crop in such a quantity, since at such an
extravagant rate its first effect would be to destroy
or to badly burn any vegetation with which it came
in direct contact. Direct contact of commercial fer-
tilizers with seeds or vegetation is not generally
advisable and direct contact is always to be avoided
with wet foliage. All commercial fertilizers are best
applied when the soil and foliage is dry.

If you have any reason to suspect adulteration
of the Nitrate you may buy, send several pounds of
it to your Experiment Station for analysis, giving
date of purchase, full name and address of agent,
and of the Company which the seller represents.

If you have any difficulty in obtaining Nitrate,
either by reason of prohibitive prices or undue de-
lays or on account of inability of dealers to supply
you promptly, let us know at once, and the difficulty
will be investigated immediately.

GRASS GROWING FOR PROFIT 43

Correspondence concerning excessive freight
charges is invited. Nitrate is sometimes dis-
criminated against by the Transportation Com-
panies by charging a chemical rate instead of a fer-
tilizer rate. In such cases please secure and forward
all the facts, including Freight Receipts.