The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-02-06
A TIMELY QJRRY-.WHA' $ IN
TaE FERTILIZER Bag.


their goods in plain figures on the bags
And yet there are many usere to whom
these words and figures convey no in
Eelligent ideas.
Il should be remembered that the
three substances farmers want to buy
in a mixed fertilizer are nitrogen, phos
phoric acid and potash, and that these
are not obJainable in their pure are,
out are contained in certain ferEu Eer
Ingredients that are articles of com
merce, Gays The Farm Journal.
A bag of ferlihZ Weighing 200
pounds, contains, therefore, much De
side the three fertIllz Dg eIemente
named above. This waste matter. a.
we may call it may be disregard d
when we cone 70 q Iure ouG the value
of the contents of the bag Buti5 may
o. said IN passing that this so ca leo
waste may have agricultural value.
With this introduction, let ia look into
bag of goods such as We fnd offered
for sale.
A 8 ate experiment station bulletin
b4fore us will aid Us In tI is work
H 9re }s bag OF the more than three
hundred trAnds anal, ID by the STA
ton Chemist Marked on the side Is
ChIs analysis:
PR Cent.
ANN 0nia. a..............3 80 20 90
PnospnOric a.i1, (avaiiablD z 90 LC 8 10
Total phOsphOrIc acid 80 90 CO 10 %
Potash (4ctuaD aD..........7 90 o 20
This Is pIaiL straight fer NaId State
ment, and comparatively easy to un-
derstand. As we have before stated IN
these articles, the nitrogen we want lie
contained in the ammonia mentioned
10 tt is analysis OF IL parts of am
monIs only Il parts are nitrogen. To
get the proper figures, in place OF SO
ard 90 we mu divide each b, II
aud multiply by IA, or, which ls Cne
same thing, multiply by 80 We will,
therefore, change rhR q g. 'iae TO read /:
Nov we are reaIy to ti4ure on the
contents of the bag. alWaS r9memoer
ing that the higher f cures given by
Gne manufacturer are really Of no i'm
portance, for he does not guarantee to
give any thing more u an his loWesE
figures indicate. We, therefore, disre
gard them
L 287 per cent. of the contents of
che uag 10 nitrogen. his means that IN
each 100 pounds, 81 pounds are nitro
gen, and horce, In the 300 pnuod bas
there are 5 "a p unds of nitrogen. In
the same way we figure there are a
pounds Of available ph )s0horic acId,
aud a total OF Is pounds o. available
a d Ina nluble pnosphoric acid. The
extra 4 pounds in these last figures
means, of course, that pounds OF the
phosphOr 9 cid is insoluOle IE wCuld
have been better to cay, Pho ph DrIc
acld QnsolublO 90 per n but to
say ''Gotal pnospnorIc &C d. 90 per
can't ;" while it r9eans the eame, is
more imposingl OF actual potash chs
a1Rlysis guarantees Il un1s
Nov, adding uo our fguroe, 5 64
pounds Of nitrogen, Is pounds + pno-
phoric acid and Il nouncs OF p1Uash
We have a tosal o. 81 "a pounds TIE
rest of the c)nCen of che bsg 162 26
POUNDS, we have n particular u-e for.
and need not count in reckoning the
value.
L9E us try To learn the commercial
value of the 81 "a pounds of pla It food.
The snas lie of trade values adopted
in 1899 Oy several of the experiment.
stations, rates niCrog In m x-d fer
tllrz re- a. Il cents per poun0, phos
pnorlc acid, (svailable) at 4 canrs. in
s1luole phospaori3 acid 2 srn,s and
p0ta b, frpn muriare Of DCasn, Gen
orally usec) at 25 cents MuCrply
ing the ascerCaiaed contents severaIly
bg the apr 7Driete ffkUr9s. the nitro
gen ia worth 80 cents; the phosphorlc
a sid, II cAnrs; the potash 60 cents, OF
q t0tal of 50 IL for the entire cDn eDts
As ten b4gs make a ton, Ton is worth
$21 10
Tne station figures we have q1o.ed
are tote nded to represent the rerai
cash cost per pound of the fe tlIz9r in
gradients contained in the raw mate
rLals before they have been mixed IE |
is important to notice this point OF
course the manufacturer buys at whole |
sale rates But be has TO NIX, bag and |
deliver TO age nts' or coneumers' sta
tion, and perhaps, wait si7 m1nths or
a year r his pay So II ne adds from
S5 to 80 per ton to our t1sures and
rhn anllinn nrinn COX or Ran rnr