Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1882-03-22

more than ton of such aduterated mate
rial lie spoke of some he had analyzed
that was half sand, and the other half con-
tanned not more than eighteen pounds of
soluble phosphate, which is less than what
Is contained in barrel of bone meal DIR.
Cutting adds =" This is the train of ideas
threw out giving various directions about
bones, saving, burning and grinding them,
ETC., etc,-the same you would talk, but
what few farmers believe, and hence don't
get the good they might cannot tell the
exact words of my lecture at Barre, but the
reporters Of the argus and the Farmer re-
port me as saying nothing like what your
correspondent gives"
In these last words Dr. Cutting evidently
means only that our correspondent did not
understand him correctly as condemning all
brands OF phosphates, for he had the drec-
tions for making superphosphate quite cor
rect This might easily happen, if the doc
tor did not take particular pains to have it
understood that he did not apply his re-
marks to all the phosphate fertilizers in,
the market.
In this connection we may mention that
the recently issued report of the Conuecti-
cut Experiment Station (for copy of whiss
we are indebted to the director of the sta,
tion, Professor Johnson,) confirms alike DIR.
cuttings statement of the comparative
worthlessness of some commercial fertilizer
and the goodness Of others, as stated by us.
This report gives the analyses of large
number OF fertilizers, samples of which
were sent to the station by farmers, and
these analyses show vast variation In
some cases the value of ton of the fertilizer
exceeds the cost more than ten dollars, while
in others the cost exceeds the value nearly
twenty-four dollars. These various brands
are all in the market for sale together, and
no farmer can tell certainly anything about
them; but by sending samples to the Ex-
pertinent Station he gets them analyzed
promptly and without charge, and their ex-
act commercial value given at standard
price for each useful constituent reckoned
separately, and then all added together to
give the total value per ton. This work
with much more that is equally valuable)
costs the state of Connecticut about so 900
year. The amount saved to the farmers
OF the state (not only in the value of the
fertilizers used, but in the loss on crops
which is sure to follow the use of valneless
manure,) is hard to be estimated. If it
were reckoned at so low rate as s. a ton
(the extreme variation in value being S3l)
the saving would amount to at least S1OO, 900.
We think it safe TO say that the knowledge
on the part of the manufacturers that their
fertilizers will surely be analyzed, and the
true value promptly given to the public,
compels them to toe the mark good deal
nearer than five dollars per ton. Twenty
dollars would be closer to the truth. The
evident value of this work has induced the
legislature of Massachusetts, now in session,
to establish an agricultural experiment sta
tion in that state. Connecticut and Massa-
chusetts are the least agricultural of the
New England states, but they have taken
the lead in appropriating this money to aid
their farmers. Vermont, New Hampshire
and Maine are all subjsc to the frauds sure
to abound where no check upon them exists.
The cost of such check is very small COM
pared with the saving. We cannot help its
being quoted to the discredit of our state
Tin the legislature of which farmers are al
ways the majority if we allow other and
less agricultural states to get the start of us
in these matters. The result will naturally
be the same as with the tramp laws, to turn
the flood of worthless fertilizers (as the
tramps were turned) into those states whose
people are too stupid or too penurious to
provide the means of defense. We know
already that in several cases where the same
brand is sold in Connecticut and Vermont,
the goods sent to Vermont are much poorer
than those sent to Connecticut. Wake up,
boys