744 ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



3. For iiiixiiig, |1.()(> \h'v ton. 



4. Foi- ba^^inj;, fl.dO iici- Ion, in all cases except those in which th.e 

 article was sold in original packajije; the cost of the packaj?e being, 

 in such cases, included in the wholesale ])rice. 



;■). For agents' conunissions, 20 jx'r cent, of Ihe cost of the goods 

 f. o. b. at the jobbers' or mixers' warehouse. 



<3. For freight, |2.(M) per ton; the cost of the freight in lots of 

 twelve tons or ovci-, froui the (Seaboard to Uarrisburg, averaging 

 $1.88 per ton. 



The following valuation of dissolved South (Jarolina rock illus- 

 trates the method: 



Phosphoric acid. Per cent. Weight per ton. 



Soluble, 11.50 2:30 lbs. at 3c. |0 90 



Reverted, 2.50 50 lbs. at 2^c. 1 25 



Insoluble, 1.00 20 lbs. at l^c. 30 



Retail cash value of ingredients, |8 45 



Bagging, 1 00 



Cash value of goods ready for shipment, |9 45 



Agents' commicssion, 20 per cent 1 89 



Freight, 2 00 



Commercial value per ton $13 34 



It is not to be expected, of course, that the valuations thus com- 

 l)uted Avill precisel}' represent the fair price to be charged for a 

 brand in each locality and in every transaction. Market conditions, 

 competition, distance from factory, all introduce minor variations. 

 Nevertheless, to make the approximation reasonaly close the aver- 

 age valuation of a given class of goods ought to agree closely with 

 its ascertained average selling price. >\'henever such an agreement 

 is no longer obtained by the use of a schedule, it is evident that 

 the schedule of retail values of the constituents, or the added allow- 

 ances for mixing, etc., reipiires revision. 



It is needful to note here another factor greatly affecting the prac- 

 tical accuracy of these approximations. Their computation would 

 offer little difficulty and their usefulness be far greater, if, by the 

 ordinary methods of analysis, the exact nature of the ingredients- 

 used to supply the several fertilizer constituents, were cai)able of 

 certain determination. This is, however, possible, to-day, to only a 

 limited extent. The valuations are, therefore based on the assump- 

 tion that the fertiliziM-s are uniformly compounded from high quality 

 ingredients, such as are commonly employed in the nianufaf-ture of 

 fertilizers of the several classes. Consumers should carefully avoid 

 the error of accepting such valuations as infallible; they are not de- 

 signed to be used foi- close comparisons of single b-rands, but only to 

 indicate whether the price asked for a. fertilizer is abnormal, as- 

 suming good quality for the ingredients used. From this it is clear 

 that, except as high freights may require, the selling price of a brand 

 should not far exceed the valuation; but that a fertilizer may be 

 made of inferior materials and yet have a high valuation. 



