New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 391 



INTRODUCTION. 



The farmers of New York State expend for plant-food in the 

 form of commercial fertilizers about four and one-half million 

 dollars a year. Only two or three other states show a larger 

 anrmal expenditure in this line. While many dairy farmers 

 depend mainly or altogether upon farm-produced or domestic 

 manures as sources of plant-food, all who most profitably and 

 continuously raise cereals, hay and forage crops, potatoes, fruits, 

 flowers, plants, nursery stock, garden crops, hops, tobacco, sugar 

 beets, crops under glass, etc., are compelled to use liberal quan- 

 tities of conmiercial fertilizers. The amount of these materials 

 used differs with the character of the agriculture in different sec- 

 tions of the State. The follovvdng data, taken from the last U. S. 

 census report, are of interest in this connection as indicating in 

 what portions of the State the largest amount of money is 

 expended for commercial fertilizers: 

 Long Island (Counties of Nassau, Queens and Suffolk) $1,241,280 



Monroe County 214,000 



Erie County 186,370 



Cayugi County 131,260 



Oneida County 1 12,630 



Onondaga, Ontario, Wayne, Ulster, Chautauqua, each 



from $102,000 to 1 10,000 



These 12 counties use about one-half of the commercial fertil- 

 izers used in the entire State. 



In view of these large expenditures, it becomes a matter of 

 economic importance to the many farmers who use materials of 

 this class to exercise good business judgment in the purchase of 

 their plant-food. It is a prominent fact that a very large propor- 

 tion of the commercial fertilizers used in New York is in the form 

 of so-called complete fertilizers, that is, mixtures containing com- 

 pounds of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. These vary 

 greatly in composition and in price. 



It is the object of this bulletin to call attention to such differ- 

 ences in cost of plant-food as we have actually found in the case 

 of various commercial fertilizers sold in this State during 1902. 

 There are certain noticeable facts which should be made known to 



