EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 237 



some instances covered nearly the whole front of the sack with guaranties, 

 which cannot help being confusing and misleading. Below is printed an 

 example of such a guaranty. 



Nitrogen, 2 to 3^. 



Nitrogen as ammonia, 2.43 to 3.6^ 



Moisture at 212 degrees F., 5 to 10^. 



Reverted phosphoric acid, 2 to 6^. 



Water soluble phosphoric acid, 6 to 8^. 



Available phosphoric acid, 10 to 12^. 



Total phosphoric acid, 12 to 14"^. 



Insoluble phosphoric acid, to 2^. 



Bone phosphate of lime, 24 to 27^. 



Potash 2 to 3;^. 



Potash as sulphate, 3.7 to 5.5^. 



The above reduced to its simplest form would be : 



Nitrogen, 1<^. 



Available phosphoric acid, 10^. 

 Insoluble phosphoric acid, 2^. 

 Potash, 2^. 



It seems hardly probable that manufacturers would go to the trouble 

 of printing such a long array of guaranties if it were not advantageous 

 for them to do so, and it is very probable that if two sacks were offered 

 for sale one showing the first guaranty and the other showing the second, 

 a great number of farmers would select the brand with the lougei- guar- 

 anty. The wants of the farmer would be 6esf provided for if manufac- 

 turers would tabulate their guaranties in the simplest possible form. 

 The Station will firmly endorse such a procedure. 



Farmers should take notice also that the common way of expressing 

 the guaranty as nitrogen 2 to 3^ is a guaranty of but 2^ nitrogen. Phos- 

 phoric acid 10 to 12^ guarantees but 10^ of phosphoric acid. The upper 

 figure is of no import unless it be to signify a desire on the part of the 

 manufacturer to claim more than he is willing to be responsible for. 



I 



TRADE NAMES. 



Trade names, in so far as they designate the particular crop for which 

 the fertilizer is to be used are misleading. Trade names should designate 

 the material from which the goods are manufactured and not the crops 

 for which they are to be used. Some fertilizers designated according to 

 names as specially for one crop nre frequently found under a different 

 name and advertised as a special manure for some entirely different crop. 

 The fact that they are sold for what they are named simply proves that 

 farmers look at the trade name instead of the analysis. There can properly 

 be no such thing as special fertilizers for a particular crop. The needs 

 of a crop depend upon the conditions of the soil in which they are grown. 

 A fertilizer made especially for sugar beets on one farm may and in all 

 probability will not be applicable to sugar beets grown on a different 

 farm. What is needed is fertilizers showing varying amounts of the 

 essential ingredients and graded accordingly. The farmer can then select 

 that one which best conforms to his particular needs. 



