394 



Report of the Inspection Work of the 



This form of statement clearly brings out the fact that fertil- 

 izers of different grades differ not only in respect to the amounts 

 of plant-food contained, but that the different elements of plant- 

 food bear a different ratio to each other in the different grades. 

 Thus, as the grade grows higher, the proportion of phosphoric 

 acid to nitrogen grows less, or, stated another way, the proportion 

 of nitrogen to phosphoric acid increases. In low-grade fertilizers, 

 there is 7 times as much phosphoric acid as nitrogen, while in 

 high-grade goods there is only twice as much. While the ratio 

 of nitrogen to potash varies, the variation is not great. 



(5) The ratio of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash found in 

 high-grade fertilizers approximates much more closely the ratio 

 found in plants than does the ratio existing in low-grade goods. 



RELATION OF SELLING PRICE TO COMMERCIAL VALUATION. 



In the table below, we give the average actual selling price and 

 the average commercial valuation in the case of each grade of 

 fertilizers, and also the excess of selling price over the commer- 

 cial valuation. As the commercial valuation represents the aver- 

 age retail price of the separate unmixed materials contained in 

 one ton of fertilizer at the seaboard, the excess of selling price 

 above commercial valuation represents the cost of mixing, the 

 freight, profits, and cost of business. 



Selling Price and Commercial Valuation of Different Grades of 



Fertilizers. 



Selling Price. 



Lowest 



Highest 



Average 



Commercial Valuation 



Lowest 



Highest ... 



Average 



Low-grade. 



$16 CO 

 34.00 

 23.00 



15 98 



14 42 



Medium- 

 grade. 



$18.00 

 30.00 

 2485 



16.01 

 19.90 

 17.70 



Medium 

 high-grade. 



$20.00 

 40.00 

 28.30 



20.00 

 24 90 

 22.15 



High- 

 grade. 



$25 00 

 44.00 

 32.80 



25.07 

 37 25 

 27.70 



