Fertilizers and Feeding Stuffs. 373 



Purposes of Unit Valuation. 



The list of unit valiie.s given above is useful from two points of 

 \ie\v. First, it enables us to find whether a certain fertilizer is com- 

 mercially worth the price asked for it or not. As an illustration, we 

 shall take from one of this year's price lists the figures showing* the 

 guaranteed composition of a bone meal. They guarantee 18 per cent, 

 of citric-soluble phosphoric oxide, 23 per cent, o'f total phosphoric 

 oxide, and 4 per cent, of nitrogen. The price is £11. 15s. per ton 

 f .o.r. at the factory. Tlie calculation of the estimated market value is 

 as follows, the unit values for Xatal being applicable in this case : — 



Value of nitrogen: 4 per cent., at 20s £4 



Value o'f citric-soluble j)h()sphoric oxide: 18 per cent., 



at 8s. 6d 7 13 U 



Value of insoluble phosphoric oxide: 5 per cent., at 



4s. 3d 113 



Estimated market value £12 14 



It is seen from the calculation that the price c^sked for this bone 

 meal is appreciably below the average market value for the season. 



The list may also be einployed to compare the commercial values 

 of different brands of fertilizers of the same nature, thus enabling the 

 buyer to select that brand which will give him the best value for the 

 money spent. In connection with this it is hardly necessary to point 

 out that the highest priced manure is not necessarily the dearest; in 

 fact it is generally the other way about, in case of simple fertilizers 

 especially. For instance, a certain firm is offering this season bone 

 dust at £11. 15s. per ton and bone meal at £11. 5s.. but on working 

 out the values it is found that the former is the better value, without 

 even taking into account the fact that the bone dust is the finer 

 grinding, and therefore more readily available in the soil. Further- 

 more, in the case of the higher priced fertilizer, but which shows 

 better value, there is less carriage to pay on worthless material so far 

 as fertilizing the soil is concerned. 



In connection with this point it may be mentioned that there is a 

 U'udency shown by firms to add a considerable amount of practicall}' 

 worthless material as a filler to the mixed fertilizers they turn out. 

 chiefly in order to keep the selling price per ton down to a reasonable 

 figure. This is due to the prejudice shown by the farmer against 

 paying a high price for his fertilizer, no matter what its composition 

 may be. For the reasons given above this is absolutely false economy, 

 and before deciding which brand of fertilizer he should buy the 

 farmer ought to find out the comparative values of all the suitable 

 brands offered by means of the above list of unit values, giving the 

 preference to the more concentrated fertilizers, everything else being 

 equal . 



To give an illustration of this second use of the unit values, let 

 us compare two mixed fertilizers, supposed to be offered by different 

 firms in the same town in Xatal, say: — One Ciuotes at £10 per ton, 

 guaranteeing 10 per cent, citric-solulile phosphoric oxide, 15 per cent, 

 total phosphoric oxide. 3 per cent, nitrogen, and 3 per cent, potash. 



