THE PURCHASE OF AGRICULTURAL LIME 



The principal factors which enter into the purchase of lime for agricultural 

 purposes are: composition, i.e., the effective oxides per ton of product; ton 

 cost f. o. b. plant; freight charge to destination and cartage cost from railroad 

 station to farm. An example in estimating the most economical purchase from 

 two given products may not be out of place. 



Two Ume products of different character were selected, both sold by Brewer 

 & Co. of Worcester, with the plant located at Winooski, Vt. The farm was 

 assumed to be two and one-half miles from the railroad station at Amherst. The 

 price per ton of the two products was obtained from the company; the freight 

 charge from the local freight agent; the pounds of effective oxides per ton of 

 product were taken from Tables I and II; and the cost of cartage was assumed 

 to be 50 cents per ton for the first mile and 30 cents per ton for each additional 

 mile. 



Producto 



Agricultural 



Lime. 



Ground 

 Limestone. 



Cash cost per ton at plant ...... 



Freight charge ........ 



Cartage cost (2| miles) ....... 



lotal cost per ton at the farm . . . . . 



Pounds of effective oxides per ton ..... 



Cost of 100 pounds of effective oxides delivered at the farm . 



S.5 . 25 



4.80 



.95 



$11.00 



1,351 



81.4 cents 



$4.25 



4.80 



.95 



$10.00 



1,079 



92 . 6 cents 



These calculations show that the hydrated product is the more economical to 

 buy, as 100 pounds of effective oxides cost 11.2 cents less when purchased in this 

 form. 



Prospective lime buyers are urged to secure quotations from several sources, 

 selecting those products where the locahty of the plant promises the most favor- 

 able freight rates. Freight rates from any shipping point will be furnished by the 

 local freight agent. 



EXPLANATION OF TABLES OF ANALYSES 



In Table I, the column headed "Proportion of total oxides as carbonates" 

 shows not only the extent to which the lime and magnesium have absorbed car- 

 bonic acid from the air in the effort to revert back to the original form when taken 

 from the quarry, but may also show the presence of imperfectly burned lime, known 

 as core, which is sometimes ground and made a part of the so-called agricultural 

 lime. Lime or magnesium not in the form of carbonate is present either in the 

 form of burned (caustic) lime or as hydrate (water-slaked lime). 



The column headed "Pounds of effective oxides in one ton" gives the calculated 

 amount of lime and magnesium contained in one ton of the product, the assump- 

 tion being that all of the lime and magnesium from this source will become avail- 

 able during a period of five years. 



The calculations found in the column headed "Cost of 100 pounds of effective 

 oxides in car lots f. o. b. plant" are based on prices furnished by the producers. 



In Table II, the data contained in the column headed "Pounds of effective 

 oxides in one ton" are calculated as in Table I, except that the degree of fineness 

 to which the limestone has been ground is taken into consideration as follows: 

 it is assumed that the lime and magnesium contained in that portion of the prod- 

 uct which will pass through a 20-mesh sieve will become available within a five- 

 year period, and what are contained in that portion which fails to pass through 

 the 20-mesh sieve will be only 50 per cent effective during the same period. In 

 both tables the figures in parenthesis following the brand name show the number 

 of samples collected and inspected. 



