The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1876-06-08

series in the report for 1879, the second |
series in the state agricultural papers.
A few words may be needed in regard TO |
fertiizing agents and actual values. 1t
has come to be recognized that most of the
mineral ingredients of plants are abundant
ly furnished by every ordinary soil. There
fore there will be no gain in adding as man.
urial agents these substances already pre-
sent In excess. But some ingredients es
sential to plant growth are found In quite
too small quantities in our long used soil to
give full crop. Fertilizers are chiefly
used to make up this lack. The value OF
fertilizer, then, will be according to the
amount of these rarcr and much needed
materials 1t can give TO the soil. This Ia
especially true of the high priced CONNER
cal fertilizers, which claim peculiar abil-
ity to do this from the large amount of
these substances they do or should contain.
Other ingredients than those mentioned
below have manurial value, particularly
potash and gypsum; the first is usually
present in too email quantities to be re-
gardcd, aud the second is too cheap to be
estimated as an ingredient of high priced
fertilizer. The ammonia and the phos-
phoric acid are the chief ingredients Of
value in these compounds, and according to
will its actual value be.
The condition which the phosphoric acid
is in, whether soluble in water and 30 ready
to be used at once by the plant; or reverted,
that Is, haying once been soluble, but on its
way back to the opposite condition, and yet
soluble in some alkaline salt; or insoluble,
that ia, not soluble in either of these, but
soluble in acids, will also determine to a
great extent their worth
Upon the amount of actual or potential
ammonia, and upon the amount and con-
| dition of the phosphoric acid, the follow
| ing values are calculated, and upon a ton
| Of 1000 pounds The market price of these
| substances in other forms will be a guide in
estimating their value in a manure; and
there ia pretty uniform basis upon which
| agricultural chemists have settled the price
of these rarer ingredients.
Professor Collier in the first state report,
| that of 1872 adopted the following estima-
ton of values, which is adhered to here, as
| it will afford good means OF comparison
with the results of the most recent analysis.
| This scale Of prices, as the professor has
recently said, is manifestly too high, a.
| equivalents can nov be purchased in the
market at less rates.
| In the fret part of the second series the
reverted and insoiuble phosphoric acid were
not separated, and both are reckoned to-
gether IS insoluble:
Soluble phosphoric acid........164c. per ID.
| Reverted 8 .......13 l-5c. per ID.
insolublc q . minimum. &c. per ID.
Ammonia. .......................25c. per To-
Potash. ............................. &c. per To-
The average value calculated from the
analyses of the twenty six fertilizers of the
first series was s45 OF per ton, while the
average OF the last half Of the second Sc
ries, those last made, is S5S 95, an increase
of thirty-threo and one third per cent
This result is in perfect keeping with sim
ilsr cases the country and countries
through; wherever the fertilizers sold have
from time to time been subjected to chem
ical analysis, the quality of the fertilizers
has steadily improved, the good growing
better, and the comparatively worthless
dropping out of the market.