58 THE CONNECTICUT AGEICULTURAL 



Individual purchasers, buying small lots, cannot probably secure 

 any considerable advantage by watching the state of the market, 

 bxat farmers' clubs and other associations of farmers may find 

 that it pays them "well to carefully watcli the market and to buy 

 their fertilizers in one lot and at a time when Avholesale prices 

 rule low. 



The following explanations will be helpful in the examination 

 of market quotations. 



Phosphate rock, kainite, bone, fish scrajj, tankage, and some 

 other articles are quoted and sold by the ton. The seller usually 

 has an analysis of his stock, and purchasers often control tliis by 

 an analysis at the time of purchase. 



Sulphate of aminonia, nitrate of soda and muriate of potash 

 are quoted and sold by the pound and generally their wholesale 

 and retail rates do not differ very widely. 



Blood, azotin and ammonite are quoted at so much " per unit 

 of ammonia." A "unit of ammonia" is one per cent, or 20 lbs. 

 per ton. To illustrate, if a lot of dried blood has 7.0 per cent, 

 of nitrogen, equivalent to 8.5 per cent, of ammonia, it is said to 

 contain 8^ units of ammonia, and if it is quoted at 1^3.75 per 

 unit, a ton of it will cost ^ X 3.75 = $31.88. 



The term " ammonia" is properly used only in those cases 

 where the nitrogen actually exists in the form of ammonia, but 

 it is a usage of the trade to reckon all nitrogen, in whatever form" 

 it occurs, as ammonia. 



To facilitate finding the actual cost of nitrogen per pound from 

 the cost per unit of ammonia in the market reports, the following 

 table is given. 



Ammonia at $4.00 per unit is equivalent to nitrogen at 24.3 cts. per lb. 



" 3.90 " "■ " 23.7 " '• 



" 3.80 " " " 23.0 " " 



" 3.70 " " " 22.4 " " 



" .3.60 " " " 21.8 •' " 



" 3.50 " " " 21.2 " " 



" 3.40 " " " 20.6 " " 



" 3.30 " ' " " 20.0 " " 



" 3.20 " " " 19.4 " " 



" 3.10 " " " 18.8 " 



" 3.00 " ' " " 18.2 " " 



Commercial sulphate of ammonia contains on the average 20 per 

 cent, of nitrogen, though it is found to vary considerably in 

 quality. When it has that amount of nitrogen (equivalent to 

 24.3 per cent, of ammonia). 



