396 



Report of the Inspection Work of the 



Cost of One Pound of Plant-Food in Different Grades of 

 Fertilizers. 



High 

 grade. 



Cost of one pound of Nitrogen. 



Lowest -- 



Highest 



Average 



Cost of one pound of Available Phos- 

 phoric Acid. 



Lowest ... ...... .... 



Highest 



Average — .- 



Cost of one pound of Potash. 



Lowest .- 



Highest . — 



Average 



Cents. 



26 o 

 19.6 



4.2s 



7-9 

 6.0 



3-4 

 6.7 



5-0 



From these data, we readily see the truth of the fohowing 

 statements: 



(i) The cost of one pound of plant-food, whether nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid or potash, is greatest in low-grade, and least in 

 high-grade, fertilizers. One purchaser of low-grade goods paid 

 36.8 cents a pound for nitrogen, while the highest price paid in 

 high-grade goods was 26 cents, which is less than the average 

 paid for nitrogen in low-grade goods. The least amount paid for 

 one pound of nitrogen in low-grade goods was 20 cents, in high- 

 grade goods 13.3 cents. Similar relations hold good in respect 

 to the other elements of plant-food. 



(2) In general, the higher the grade of goods, the lower the 

 cost of each pound of plant-food. 



THE cost of plant-food IN MLXTURES CONTAINING PHOSPHORIC 

 ACID AND POTASH. 



Considerable quantities of commercial fertilizers are sold in 

 the form of mixtures of dissolved phosphate rock (acid phos- 

 phate) and muriate of potash, under such names as " alkaline 

 bone and potash," " bone and potash " " dissolved bone and 

 potash," " soluble bone and potash," " alkaline dissolved bone," 

 " acidulated bone and potash," " alkaline phosphate," and vari- 



