171 



restored to the land to balance the consumption of p-rowing Food for 



^ to to Plants 



crops. 



Tables exhibiting the average amounts of Nitrogen, phos- 

 phoric acid, and potash found projfitable for different crops 

 are given on pages 163, 164, 172. 



In using complete fertilizers, or in special crop feeding, 

 it should be borne in mind that lands in a high state of 

 cultivation generally respond to heavy fertilization with 

 much greater immediate profit than those of ordinary 

 fertility. 



Home-Mixing. 



The following formulas, together with the analyses and 

 valuations, are taken from the Twelfth Annual Report of the 

 New Jersey State Agricultural Experiment Station for 1891. 



They prove most conclusively that farmers can make 

 even mixtures of raw materials which in mechanical condi- 

 tion compare favorably with the best manufactured brands 

 of complete fertilizers, and that the cost of mixing by the 

 m"anufacturers may be saved without increasing the cost of 

 farm labor. 



The results also show that in this particular instance 

 there was a total difference of thirty-one per cent, in cost 

 in favor of home-made mixtures. 



"In making these mixtures two important points were 

 taken into consideration. First, that the value of a complete 

 fertilizer depends upon the kind and quality of the essential 

 ingredients, Nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash con- 

 tained in it; and second, that the higher the grade of the 

 materials used in making the mixture the less will be the 

 expenses of freight and handling per pound of essential 

 ingredients. 



"High grade materials were used in the preparation of 

 all of these mixtures, and the different combinations were, 

 as^a rule, adopted after a careful study of the plant-food 

 requirements of the soil for different crops. 



"Chemical analyses were made of all the materials used 

 in the mixtures: 



