RHODE ISLAND EXPERIMENT STATION. ^ood for 



Plants 



What Percentage of "Water Does Hay Lose 

 During Storage ? 



Hay which had been stored during the summer of iQOi 

 was removed from the mow the following February, and 

 found to contain 12.21 per cent, of water. A careful com- 

 parison of other moisture determinations of hay leads to the 

 conclusion that 12.21 is a fair general average of the per- 

 centage of water in the best quality of barn-cured hay. 



RESULTS IN NEW YORK. 



The general practice among farmers is to buy complete 

 medium or low-grade fertilizers in preference to high-grade 

 fertilizers. In high-grade goods, the cost of plant-iood is 

 considerably less than in fertilizers of lower grade. 



Available phosphoric acid is cheapest in the form of 

 dissolved rock (acid phosphate). Bone-meal furnishes a 

 cheap source of phosphoric acid in less available form. 

 Nitrate of Soda is one of the cheapest sources of Nitrogen, 

 while bone is another. Nitrogen in the form of dried blood 

 is rather high. Potash in the form of muriate is the cheapest 

 source of potash. In mixtures of fertilizing materials, 

 whether complete or incomplete, the plant-food usually costs 

 more than in unmixed materials. 



When purchasing mixed fertilizers, farmers are ad- 

 vised to purchase only high-grade goods, and then to make 

 a commercial valuation to compare with the selling price. 

 Even in high-grade goods, the selling price should not exceed 

 the commercial valuation by more than $^. 



For greatest economy, farmers are advised to purchase 

 unmixed materials and do their own mixing; or, in the case of 

 clubs, several farmers can purchase their unmixed materials 

 and hire a fertilizer manufacturer to do the mixing for them. 



The following data, taken from the last U. S. Census 

 Report, are of interest in this connection as indicating in 

 what portions of the State the largest amount of money is 

 expended for commercial fertilizers: 



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