158 N. H. AGR. EXPERIMENT STATION [Bulletin 146 



An examination of the data iu Bulletin 223 of the New 

 Jersey Station shows the cost of these unmixed goods in 

 that state. In other words, an inspection of 136 samples of 

 standard unmixed products showed that the fertilizing ele- 

 ments were for sale and were bought in the open market at 

 about the schedule price as fixed above. Twenty samples of 

 nitrate of soda were for sale at such prices that the cost 

 of the nitrogen was 1G.56 cents per pound. The average 

 cost of nitrogen in six samples of sulphate of ammonia was 

 15.58 cents per pound. The average cost of available phos- 

 phoric acid in fourteen samples of plain superphosphate 

 was 3.73 cents per pound. Potash in fourteen samples of 

 muriate of potash cost 4.04 cents per pound. In sulphate 

 of potash the cost for three samples was 4.G2 cents per 

 pound. The cost of nitrogen in eight samples of dried 

 blood was 19.36 cents, while in dried and ground fish the 

 average cost of nitrogen in twenty-two samples was 20.67 

 cents per pound. 



Fi'om data not included in this report it is certain that 

 the materials in mixed fertilizers cost the consumers in 

 New Hampshire from twenty to one hundred and fifty per 

 cent, more than the schedule prices. A large number of 

 brands were offered for sale at such prices that more than 

 half the cost came from sources other than the chemicals 

 they contained. One brand was sold for $26 per ton, while 

 an equal amount of unmixed chemicals represented a value 

 of less than .$10. On the other hand, when the same values 

 were applied to a different brand offered for $29 per ton, 

 the chemicals represented a value of approximately $22. A 

 large number of brands selling from $26 to $32 per ton 

 contained less chemicals than could be bought for $15. The 

 selling price may be no measure of the real value of the 

 goods. These observations are very pointed in so far as 

 they have a bearing upon the purchase of fertilizers. They 

 show how imperative it is for the consumer to scrutinize 



