Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-04-13
The Chemists ArTaigned.

Our correspondent, Mr.. Wars of Msssa-
chusetts, in letter addressed to the North
Carolina Farmer, makes some pretty severe
criticisms of the agricultural chemists of
the North Carolina and other experiment
and fertilizer control stations, in regard to
their valuation of fertilizer constituents
He says these are all in the interest of the
manufacturer of fertilizers, rather than of
the buyers. According to him the North
Carolina chemist sets the price of ammonia
in organic form much higher than the chem
lists of Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and
yet the latter allow the manufacturers a
profit of one hundred per cent on this in
gredient of their fertilizers The valuation
of potash is on "potash in pure, high grade,
sulphate, (which" says Mr.. Ward, "is
rarely if ever used. Muriate OF potash is
used, in which form the potash costs less
than four cents a pound. Why, them" he
asks estimate the value of potash in such
fertilizers at eight cents2" Nitrogen in fer
tilizers is valued by the North Carolina
chemist at twenty-three cents and in Massa-
chusetts and Connecticut at eighteen cents,
but none of these inform the farmers whether
it is available or not
| In lecture delivered before the farmers
at Haddington, Scotland, Mr.. j. b. Lawes,
the distinguished agricultural chemist and
farmer of Rothampstead, England, said that
although potash, phosphoric acid and nj
trogen are the chief manurial Ingredients
in farm yard dung and in artificial fertiliz-
ers, still the difference in form in which
these substances are met with greatly affects
their value. The present method of ana
lying manures does not properly recognize
these distinctions, and the valuations
founded upon these analyses are altogether
false and erroneous" " Farther" said Mr..
Lawes, "you all know about what is taught
in regard to soluble and insoluble phos-
pilates, but what of soluble and insoluble
nitrogen, which is much more costly
thing?' Yet the chemists all reckon it as
soluble, turning it into ammonia, and leav =
ing us in a happy state of ignorance as to
whether and how such changes take place
in the SOIL
At the North Carolina station solu BILE "
| and reverted" phosphoric acid are both
| valued at twelve and one-half cents pound.
Elsewhere they are valued, soluble at twelve
and ono half eonto and rovortod at .iae
cents. Is this in the interest of farmers,
or manufacturers ?" asks Mr.. Ward. And
he adds, at is a question if soluble phos-
phoric acid is of more value to apply than
insoluble.' More depends upon how fine it
is ground than upon its solubility before it
is applied. Soil tests go to show that finely
ground phosphates produce as large if not
larger crops than the superphosphates in
which large portion of the phosphoric acid
is rendered soluble in pure water" All
forms of phosphoric acid in combination
with lime, it should be understood, are solu-
BILE in the water of the soil, and the designa-
tion of one and two lime phosphates as
"soluble" and " reverted" while three lime
phosphate is called insoluble," is deceptive,
because the one lime phosphate OF the chem
ist is almost instantly transformed into the
two lime variety when brought in contact
with the soil. On the other hand the three
lime phosphate OF the rocks and of bones is
also, though more slowly, changed into two
lime phosphate by the action OF the water of
the soil, which is not pure, but contains car
bonic and other acids in solution. 1t all
comes to two lime phosphate at last, and it
is in this form that vegetation makes use OF