FERTILIZERS. 539 



nitrogen varied from 12.7 to 35 cts. ; the cost per pound of nitrogen in 

 the 2 samples of sulphate of ammonia analyzed was 15.5 and 16.8 cts. 

 The nitrogen in decorticated cotton-seed meal (43 samples) ranged from 

 8.17 to 0.28 per cent, the average being 7.05 per cent. The retail cash 

 cost per pound of nitrogen varied from 11.2 to 15.5 cts., with an average 

 of 12.7 cts. The nitrogen of a sample of unhulled dark meal cost about 

 3.5 cts. per pound more than that of good quality yellow meal. Cotton- 

 seed meal of good quality is therefore one of the cheapest sources of 

 available nitrogen, but "it is a waste of money to buy low grade rather 

 than high grade meal for use as a fertilizer at present prices." In 8 

 samples of linseed meal examined, the average cost of nitrogen per pound 

 was 13 cts.; in 4 samples of castor pomace it ranged from 15.0 to 20.0 

 cts.; the latter is therefore a very expensive form of nitrogen at present 

 prices. The price of available phosphoric acid in 5 samples of dissolved 

 boneblack and samples of dissolved rock phosphate examined varied 

 from 5.9 to 7.0 cts. per pound. "In mixed car lots it has been bought 

 for a little over 3 cts. per pound." 



The retail cash price of potash as high-grade sulphate ((! samples) ranged from 4.9 

 to 5.2 cts. per pound; as double sulphate (7 samples) from 4.9 to 6.3 cts. per pound; 

 as muriate (8 samples) from 3.9 to 4.4 cts. per pound. 



"Of the 88 analyses of nitrogenous superphosphates [reported], 27 are below the 

 maker's minimum guarantee in respect of one ingredient and 5 in respect of two 

 ingredients. Thus 36 per cent, or more than one-third of these fertilizers, do not 

 fulfill the manufacturer's guarantees. . . . The average cost of the nitrogenous 

 superphosphates is $31.56 per ton. The average valuation is $21.18, aud the per- 

 centage difference 49. . . . 



"Of the 83 brands of special manures here reported 22 are below the manufac- 

 turer's guarantee in respect of one ingredient and 5 in respect of two ingredients, 

 so that nearly one-third of the whole number do not fulfill the manufacturer's 

 claims. . . . The average cost of the 83 special manures was $36.19 per ton. The 

 average valuation was $25.61. The difference, $10.55, is equivalent to a 'percentage 

 difference ' of 41.1. . . . 



"The average cost of 8 samples of home mixtures was $27.66, or, adding $2 per ton 

 for mixing, $29.06. The average valuation of the same was $26.05, and the percent- 

 age difference between cost and valuation 13.9." 



In 22 samples of wood ashes examined during the year the potash 

 soluble in water varied from 3 to 0.7 per cent; the phosphoric acid from 



I to 2.0 per cent. In 21 samples, the lime ranged from 24.5 to 40.8 per 

 cent. The average composition and cost of the wood ashes examined 

 in 1890 were approximately as follows : Potash soluble in water, 5.5 per 

 cent; phosphoric acid, 1.5 per cent; lime, 32.5 per cent; sand and soil, 



II per cent; charcoal, 2.5 per cent; cost, $10.30. In 31 analyses of 

 cotton-hull ashes, the potash soluble in water varied from 15.4 to 30.04 

 per cent, and the phosphoric acid from 5.90 to 11.08 per cent. The 

 averages of these 2 ingredients were 23.1 and 9.7 per cent, respectively. 



Potash and its function in agriculture, II. W. Wiley ( U. 8. Dept. 

 Agr. Yearbook 1896, pp. 107-130). — A popular discussion of the origin, 

 distribution, loss, and solubility of potash in soils; the draft of differ- 



