6a EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



scrapped in order to take up new lines of work. The manu- 

 facturer of shoes cannot change to rubbers, nor the dairy 

 farmer become a market gardener, without serious loss of 

 capital due to the change. 



The high costs of supplies, equipment and labor have 

 affected the experiment station as they have all other lines of 

 human endeavor. It is of interest to have recorded some of 

 the changes in cost that have occurred over a period of less 

 than a decade. 



The year 1911 has been chosen as the base of comparison 

 because in that year the appropriation from the Federal 

 treasury reached a fixed point from which it has not changed, 

 and this appropriation is an important part of the income of 

 the experiment station. 



Chemicals, represented by the common acids and ammonia, 

 have advanced as follows, as shown by our invoices: sulfuric 

 acid, from 5 cents per pound to 8 cents; hydrochloric acid, 

 from 5^ to 16 cents; nitric acid, from 7^ to 14 cents; and 

 ammonia, from 7^ to 28 cents. Most other chemicals neces- 

 sarily advanced proportionally. 



Fertilizers advanced in like manner: acid phosphate cost 

 $12.16 per ton in 1911, and advanced to $26 in 1919; tankage 

 increased from $37 to $94 per ton; and sulfate of ammonia, 

 from $68 to $128. Nitrate of soda and potash salts are not 

 mentioned in this list because their prices last year were all 

 the market would bear during the season, if they were ob- 

 tainable. 



Feeding stuffs soared fully as high as fertilizers. Corn meal 

 averaged $24 per ton in 1911, and cost $67.50 last year. Cot- 

 tonseed meal rose from $30 to $67, gluten feed from $26 to 

 $64, and wheat bran from $26 to $47. 



The laborer on the farm received $1.75 per day in 1911 and 

 averaged $3 the past year. 



Apparatus and tools advanced proportionally to the increases 

 in supplies and labor. 



During the same period the salaries of the members of the 

 staff have advanced much less proportionally, except in a few 

 cases of young workers who have been promoted. Assistants 

 with technical training, just from college, require about 60 



