390 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



c-orrespoudiug figures Avere, average cost $38.13, average valuation $28.62, jjer- 

 ceutage dilfereuce 33.2. . . . 



•'The average cost i>er ton of the 24 brands ol' bone manures aualyzt;d has l^een 

 $32.09, and the average valuation $31.03 per ton. . . . 



"Cotton-seed meal has been by far the cheapest source of available nitrogen, dur- 

 ing the past season. Experiments indicate that it is as rapidly and fully avail- 

 able as the best forms of animal matter. It has been extensively used this year in 

 home-mixed fertilizers and has giveu perfect satisfaction. . . . 



"Castor pomace is an expensive form of organic nitrogen at present prices, and is 

 used chiefly by certain tobacco growers who still prefer it to cotton-seed meal. The 

 Poijuonockexjieriments indicate that cotton-seed meal in equivalent (jiiautity yields 

 tobacco of the same quality in all respeits as castor pomace, and at a much lower 

 cost for fertilizers. . . . 



"In acid rock x)hosphate available phosphoric acid has cost on the average very 

 considerably less than in dissolved boneblack. Those who have tried the acid 

 phosphate in home- mixed fertilizers report very favorably, finding little or no trouble 

 from caking or 'setting' after mixing. There is no reason in the claim that the 

 'available' phosphoric acid of the dissolved rock phosphates is any less valuable 

 agriculturally than that of dissolved boneblack. . . . 



" Potash in the 8uli)hates, both high and low grade, has cost about 1 ct. more iier 

 pound than in the muriates. ... 



"Allowing 6, 5^, and 2 cts. per pound respectively for soluble, reverted, and 

 insoluble phosphoric acid, the price of actual potash in 20 samples of cotton-hull 

 ashes has ranged from 4.3 cts. to 13 cts. per pound, the average being 6.1 cts. . . . 



"The fact that cotton-seed meal and dissolved phosphate rock sold at very low 

 prices during the last winter and spring induced many farmers to mix their own 

 fertilizers who had not previously done it. 



"Fifteen samples of these home mixtures have been analyzed at this station. . . . 



"These fertilizers as a rule have a higher percentage of nitrogen and of potash 

 than the average of factory-mixed goods and considerably less phosphoric acid. . . . 



"The mechanical condition of these home mixtures has been uniformly good, and 

 not noticeably dili'erent from that of factory-mixed goods." 



The experieace of the farmers was favorable to the home mixtures 

 as regards both effectiveness and economy. 



Commercial fertilizers, E. B. Voorhees ( U. S. iJept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 44, pp. 

 24). — A popular bulletin on the composition and use of commercial fertilizers, in 

 which the following topics are discussed : The need of commercial fertilizers; ferti- 

 lizer requirements of different soils and crops; forms, sources, and comjiosition of 

 fertilizing materials — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash; agricultural vs. com- 

 mercial A'alue of fertilizers; variations in the composition of manufactured ferti- 

 lizers ; the purchase of fertilizers ; conditions under which fertilizers niiiy be profitably 

 used; the kind of fertilizer to use; and the systematic application of fertilizers. 

 The principal features of this bulletin are brought out in the following summary: 



"(1) Commei'cial fertilizers are mainly valual)le because they furnish tlie ele- 

 ments — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and ])otash — which serve as food, not as stimu- 

 lants. 



"(2) The kind of farming in the past and the demands for special products in the 

 present make their use necessary in ]iroii table farming. 



"(3) In order to use them profitably the farmer should know — 



"(fl) That nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash are the essential manurial 

 constituents; 



" {h) That the agricultural value of these constituents depends largely upon 

 their chemical form ; 



"(c) That these forms are contained in specific products of a well-defined 

 character and composition, and may be i)urchased as such from dealers and 

 manufacturers and may be mixed successfully ou the farm. 



