of the material. The advantages are the buyer 

 knows what he is getting; he buys only the ingre- 

 dients he needs, and he buys direct. Such advantages, 

 however, do not always hold if the quantity wanted 

 is less than a carload. Farmers can then club 

 together and effect the saving. 



If, however, a complete fertilizer is needed, it is 

 better to buy of a reliable manufacturer, as the goods 

 are then mixed and blended more evenly and cheaply. 

 If several ingredients are needed, and these can be 

 purchased to ad vantage separately, it would be better 

 to apply them separately than to attempt home 

 mixing, for a shovel and a barn floor \vill not mix 

 foods evenly and uniformly. 



As a rule home mixing pays when compared with 

 the purchase of low grade brands. If the manufac- 

 turer offers HIGH GRADE fertilizers it is time and 

 money saved to use them. 



WHY THE ANALYSIS DOES NOT ADD TO ONE HUNDRED 

 PER CENT. 



The Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station 

 Bulletin No. 47 says: "The question is often asked 

 why the plant food contained in a fertilizer does not 

 add up to 100. For instance, the average Vermont 

 goods this year contain in a hundred, 2.22 pounds 

 nitrogen, 10.93 pounds total phosphoric acid and 

 3.46 pounds of potash, a total of 16.61 pounds. Of 

 what did the other 83.39 pounds consist, and is it 



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