210 



Report of the Chemist of the 



4. Cost of One Pound of Plant-Food in Different Materials 

 AS Purchased by Consumers. 



It is a matter of importance to see how much a pound of plant- 

 food costs the purchaser in different materials. The data con- 

 tained in the table following are obtained from the preceding 

 tables. 



In reference to nitrogen, it will be noticed that its price in com- 

 plete fertilizers varied from 11.5 to 43.4 cents a pound and aver- 

 aged 20.2 cents for the goods collected during 189G. It is also 

 noticeable that in unmixed materials, the average price varies 

 from 10.9 in fish scraps to 15.6 cents in dried blood. The varia- 

 tion of price between lowest and highest was less in nitrate of 

 soda and fish scraps than bone-meal, tankage, or dried blood. 



In regard to available phosphoric acid, the price of one pound 

 varied in the goods collected during the year from 4.5 to 17 cents 

 and averaged nearly 8 cents. The price was less in the dissolved 

 or acid phosphates, averaging 6.6 cents. The total phosphoric 

 acid in bone-meal and tankage cost 5.6 cents a pound and in fish 

 scraps, 4.1 cents. In mixtures of acid phosphates and potash 



'Commercial valuation greater than price paid. 



