178 



(8) Corn and hay alone are more costly, and will not fatten cattle as rapidly aa 

 rations containing cotton seed and cotton-seed meal with cotton hulls or silage ; and 

 boiled cotton seed added to the corn and hay ration makes more rapid gain than corn 

 and hay alone, and at considerable less cost per pound for food consumed. 



(9) The waste from cattle fed hay, corn, silage, and raw cotton seed was worth 

 considerable more for hogs running after the steers than the waste from cattle fed 

 silage, cotton hulls, aud cotton-seed meal. 



The bulletin also coutaius a letter of inquiry regarding the cost of 

 fattening cattle, which was sent to persons interested in cattle raising 

 in Texas and elsewhere. Replies are given from R. L. Maupiu, of 

 Mobile, Alabama, and from the experiment stations in Colorado, Wis- 

 consin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Colorado. 



Vermont Station, Bulletin No. 19, April, 1890 (pp. 4). 



Questions concerning injurious insects, G. H. Perkins, Ph. 

 D. — A list of questions sent farmers of Vermont, with a view to secur- 

 ing information on which to base the work of the station in entomology 

 for the season of 1890. 



Vermont Station, Bulletin No. 20, May, 1890 (pp. 15). 



Fertilizer analysis, W. W. Cooke, M. A. (pp. 27-39). — This con- 

 tains the trade values of fertilizing ingredients in raw materials and 

 chemicals for 1890, as agreed upon by the stations of Massachusetts, 

 Connecticutand New Jersey ; explanations of these values; aud analyses 

 of thirty-one brands of commercial fertilizers. A comparison of the 

 average composition of sixteen standard brands of fertilizers analyzed 

 in 1889 with that of the same brands analyzed in 1890 shows — 



That the quality of the fertilizers sold has changed quite decidedly during the past 

 year. Notwithstanding the fact that the price of materials furnishing nitrogen has 

 ■decreased so that the valuation has been lowered from 19 cents a pound to 17 cents, 

 yet fertilizer manufacturers have decreased the amount of nitrogen in their goods by 

 68 cents per ton. At the same time, though there has been no change in the price of 

 materials containing phosphoric acid, the amount of it in the fertilizers has dropped 

 f 1.20. Potash has remained the same in price and amount. On the whole, therefore, 

 these sixteen brands of fertilizers, which constitute the great bulk of all the fertil- 

 izers sold in the State, have a valuation this year of $1.84 less than last, when calcu- 

 lated on the same prices. But since the selling price in Vermont averages about 25 

 per cent above the valuation, it follows that this amount should be added to the dif- 

 ference in valuation to get the real difference in commercial value, and this gives 

 $2.30. That is, in order that the farmer may get the same return for his money, he 

 should purchase his fertilizers for $2.30 per ton cheaper than he did last year. There 

 has been no fall in retail price corresponding to this decrease in quality. The de- 

 crease in price on these sixteen brands has been 88 cents. This means, then, that 

 while the cost of the raw materials to the manufacturers has decreased, yet these 

 manufacturers have so lowered the quality of their goods as to make the farmer pay 

 about $1.50 more per ton than last year for the same amount of plant food. This 

 amounts to $6,000 on the fertilizer business of this State. 



