The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-11-20
Agriculture.
BUYING eoMEERC1AL FERTILIZERS.
ThopghtfuI Farmer and Trucker Discusses
Some Costly Mistakes.


in the guano which they put under
their cropsP How many even take
the trouble to read the analysis on
the sack, and how many know what
it means when they read it? Ask
Yourselves these questions, friends,
and see that this does not apply to
you. You know very we'll that the
knowledge Of the great majority of
farmers about fertilizers, goes no
further than the name of the brand
they buy that outside of this, all
else is guesswork, and they take un-
questionably whatever the agent
may tell them about the fertilizer he
sells.
have in nay mind an agent who
Is very enthusiastic over a cotton
fertilizer analyzing 8 per cent. phos-
phoric acid, 3 per cent. ammonia,
and ? per cent. potash, and he is sell
ing hundreds of tons of this low
grade stuff principally, I should i'm
agine, because it is cheap. 1t looks
black and smells strong, and the un-
suspecting farmer does not know
that in a ton of this fertilizer he is
buying between six hundred or seven
hundred pounds of sand, or some
substance of no fertilizing value,
which has TO be used as a filler in or
der to manufacture u cheap fertili-
zer. He is charged the same price
for plant food in a cheap low grade
guanO, that he is in the high grade
expensive brands, and he is paying
freight and handling upon a lot of
material of which he has more than
an abundance on his farm already.
Now, friends, when you buy your
guano don't buy tons of dirt, buy
plant food Look at the analysis on
the sack. and figure on the first row
of figures the second is simply put
there to make you think you are get
ting more than you are. Remember
thut per cent. is one pound in d
hundred; that this pound is what
YOU are paying for, and that it is
worth just so much on the market
s per cent. of phOsphOric acid IS s
5 pounds of phosphOric acid in hun
dred pounds, and is worth on the
market about cents per pound, or
~ cents; Z per cent. or 2 pounds OF
ammonia is worth at present prices
about Il cents per pound, or % cents,
and Z per cent. or 2 pounds of potash
Is worth ; cents per pound or 10
cents. This makes the plant food in
one hundred pounds of this fertilizer
worth 7S cents, and a ton, 20 times
rS or $3.50 This is what it would
cost you if you bought the materials
and mixed it yourself. For the ready
nlxcd article you pay about SIS or
OF $50 per ton; a part of which ad-
vance goes to pay for the dirt which
the fertilizer companies have mixed
with the plant food in order to make
YOU a cheap guano; and you could
bay the same amount of plant food
IN 1900 or 800 pounds of a higher
grade fertilizer.
IN the fertilizer mentioned above,
1000 pounds of acid phosphate fur
nishes Z per cent. of phosphOric acid,
the other l per cent. came from the
300 pounds of blood which was used
to supply the 2 per cent. of ammonia,
while 50 pounds of muriate of potash
gave the 2 per cent. of potash. This
leaves, you see, $40 pounds of some
non fertilihing substance to complete
the ton. Of course this would not
have been so much if lOw-grade
raukage had been used, instead of
blood, to supply the ammonia; but
IT would have added dirt just the
same, of. which all 1ow-grade fertiliz-
ingmaterials contain a large amount. |
If we are to use grade fertilizers, |
the plant food in them should be |
enough cheaper to overcome the |
extra cost of freight and handling. |
The reverse, however, is really the |
case. The farmers ignorant de- |
mand for cheap fertilizers has put
premium on dirt, as it we're, and !
raised the price of low grade fertiliz-
ing material above the place they
would naturally occupy. Truly,
every one pays dearly for his ignO-
rance Then, too, the low grade fer
tlizer is never we'll balanced. Eight
per cent. phosphoric acid, 2 per cent.