Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, Vol. 2
January, 1904 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture, Vol. 2: January, 1904<br><br>This axiom of Nature, when referred to the nitrogen contained in living things, finds its justification and realisation in fact by the relationship of nitrates to the decay and the re-creation of the materials of which all forms of life are composed. The last stage in the decay of nitrogenous matter from plants and animals is that of the nitrates formed in the soil, and this again is the first stage in which the dead matter is taken up afresh by the growing plant and re-created into the substance of living matter.<br><br>In the tropics this cycle is appreciably accelerated by conditions favourably adapted towards swiftness of decay and a regeneration frequently miraculous in the speed of its attainment.<br><br>A knowledge of the process of nitrification underlies an intelligent comprehension of the principles of soil management, of cultivation and manuring.<br><br>The most valuable commercial form of nitrogenous fertilizers for use in a tropical country of free rainfall, as in the cultivated areas of Jamaica, is Sulphate of Ammonia.<br><br>An attempt will be made to give an account of the process whereby ammonia derived from organic decay or the commercial fertilizer is converted into nitrate for the direct nutrition of a crop.<br><br>Nitrification.<br><br>Although plants are able to feed upon ammonia dissolved in the soil water, they rarely do so under normal conditions.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.