The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-04-30

But if Professor Sabin is unfair to the
makers in this respect, Secretary Cutting
a good deal more than makes 1t up to
them in his standard of comparative
values" and in taking for comparison the
lowest figures in the manufacturers state
ment of composition instead Of the aver
age, or the selling price. The Connecti-
cut Station has in its last report reduced
its "trade value" standard of soluble
phosphoric acid from twelve and one-half
cents pound to ten cents, while it
shows that even on the small scale of pri.
vate experiment the farmer can prepare
soluble phosphoric acid for less than eight
cents a pound. But DR.. Cutting main
tains twelve and one-half cents as his
STANDARD" The Connecticut Station
estimates "reverted phosphoric acid in
superphosphates at eight cents a pound.
DR.. Cutting says Some figure soluble
phosphoric acid at twelve and one-half
cents and reverted at eight cents, but as
believe that the reverted is as valuable as
the soluble, see no reason to reduce the
price of it," That, certainly, is one way
to look at it; but we think the farmer
who buys fertilizers will be apt to say :
off soluble phospboric acid is worth no
more than reverted, and if the reverted in
superphosphates is valued at eight cents a
pound, then the soluble ought to be cal
culated at the same price.
By these two ways of reckoning-tak-
ing the lowest figures of the guarantee,
instead of the selling price for COMPARE
son, and calculating both soluble and re-
verted phosphoric acid at the very high
est rate ever taken fof soluble alone, Sec
rotary Cutting is able to make far bet
ter showing for the fertilizer makers than
is made anywhere else, and ought to be
proportionslly entitled to their gratitude.
We fear it will look little inconsistent
to those who have heard DR.. Cuttings
lectures on fertilizers Gin which he has
undertaken to show them that a fertilizer
as good as Bradley's XII can be made for
about $15 ton by the farmer, on a
small scale), to be now shown by DR..
Cuttings own figures that the Bradley
fertilizer is actually worth $41.s7 per ton |
As for ourself, we are satisfied that the
first estimate was too low, and that ton
made by DR.. Cuttings formula is not
nearly so good as ton of Bradley's XII.
We are equally satisfied that his present
estimate OF the Bradley is far too high.
1t is too high, not alone in the estimate
of phosphoric acid, but in the estimate
of nitrogen. DIR. Cutting estimates all
the nitrogen Gas we'll as phosphoric acid)
at a very high rate, twenty.four cents be.
ing allowed for all the nitrogen in the
fertilizers reported on The Connecticut
Station now allows twenty-five cents for
nitrogen in ammonia salts, only twenty
cents for nitrogen in nitrates, seven
teen cents for nitrogen in fine ground
bone, and eighteen cents for nitrogen
and fine dry and fine ground blood,
meat and fish. The queerest thing of
all in this connection is that DR.. Cut
ting estimates ammonia" at twenty.
six cents, although nitrogen is the val.
liable element of ammonia, and seven.
teen parts of ammonia contain but four
teen parts of nitrogen, 80 that the value
of ammonia is really but fourteen-seven-
teenths of the value of nitrogen.
To make this matter clearer we will give
our estimation of the value of the Brad
ley XII fertilizer as analysed by Professor
Sabin and calculated upon DR.. Cuttings
"values," and then, taking the same an
alysis, give the Connecticut "values." 1t
should be remembered that the latter
"values are still too high, and they are
specially stated to be adopted not as true
values, but as a standard of comparison
The following is Professor Sabin's an
alysis in percentages, with DR.. Cuttings
valuation