46 



CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS; AND LIME 



instead of nitrogen ; bone phosphate, instead of phosphoric acid ; and 

 sulfate of potash, instead of actual potash. The statement of the 

 guarantee of the constituents in combination increases the percentage, 

 thus leading ignorant purchasers to think that they are obtaining a 

 larger percentage of the constituents than is really the case. 



In the case of raw materials, a guarantee based on the purity of the 

 chemical salts is very frequently used. That is, a substance when pure 

 contains 100 per cent of the specific salt, and the guarantee which 

 accompanies this product is merely a statement that indicates its purity. 

 For example, when nitrate of soda is guaranteed to contain 95 per 

 cent nitrate, it means that it is 95 per cent pure nitrate, or that 5 per 

 cent of the total substance consists of impurities. The same is true in 

 the case of sulfate of ammonia, sulfate of potash, muriate of potash, 

 and other potash salts that may be offered. In order that the farmer 

 may have a simple method of determining the actual content of the 

 constituents, however guaranteed, the following tables are given to 

 show the terms that are used, their equivalent of actual elements, and 

 the factors to use in converting the one into the other : 



The following statements show the methods of stating guarantees 

 on the basis of purity, in the case of many raw materials, and the equiv- 

 alent percentage on the basis of actual constituents : 

 Guarantee on basis of purity : 



Nitrate of soda, 95 per cent, or containing 95 per cent pure nitrate. 

 Muriate of potash, 80 per cent, or containing 80 per cent pure muriate. 

 Sulfate of potash, 98 per cent, or containing 98 per cent pure sulfate. 

 Kainit, 25 per cent, or containing 25 per cent pure sulfate. 



Guarantee on basis of actual constituents : 



Nitrate of soda, total nitrogen 15.64 per cent. 



Muriate of potash, actual potash 50.50 per cent. 



Sulfate of potash, actual potash 53.00 per cent. 



Kainit, actual potash 13.50 per cent. 



