34. 



phoric acid in the mixed goods comes from tankage, bone and 

 other raw products which are used in the mixtures. To what 

 extent other nonacidulated materials were used cannot be de- 

 finitely determined. 



A test has been made to determine the form of 

 Character of potash in every sample of fertilizer analyzed. 

 Potash. A great majority of the brands carried potash 



in form of muriate. In many of the guaran- 

 tees of brands having potash in form of mu- 

 riate, the manufacturer has given the equivalent in sulfate of 

 potash. This practice is misleading, its object being to give the 

 purchaser the impression that the potash is actually present as 

 sulfate. Any doubt in this matter may be decided b>' reference 

 to the tables of analyses, where potash in form of sulfate is in- 

 dicated by the asterisk (*), which refers to a footnote giving the 

 amount of potash as sulfate and muriate. Wherever the per- 

 centage of potash occurs in the tables without the asterisk or 

 dagger following the potash percentages, the potash is in form of 

 muriate. Only a very few cases have been noted showing the 

 absence of chlorides in those brands where sidfate was guaran- 

 teed. The amount of chlorine present was small and has varied 

 within relatively narrow limits, which indicates that its source 

 was not from muriate of potash added, but rather from other 

 chemicals and raw products used. 



The presence of considerable chlorine in tobacco fertilizers 

 is not desirable. Most of the tobacco formulas have been quite 

 satisfactory in this respect, showing only incidental amounts of 

 chlorine. (Thirty-eight analyses, representing 24 tobacco brands 

 with potash guaranteed as sulfate, showed total potash 6.25%, 

 of which 5.44% was from sulfate and .81% from muriate.) An 

 exception to this was found in two samples of Tobacco Starter 

 and Grower put out by the American Agricultural Chemical Com- 

 pany. No. 86 had a guarantee of 4% potash in form of sulfate; 

 4.60 % was found, of which 3.49% was from muriate and .66% 

 from sulfate. No. 918, with the same guarantee, contained 4.52% 

 potash as muriate and .19% potash as sulfate. Another sample 

 of this brand, No. 660, had most of its potash as guaranteed, 

 4.47% being present as sulfate and only .73% as muriate. The 

 company write that their factory superintendent is unable to 

 account for the presence of the muriate of potash in the goods as 

 nothing but high grade sulfate was supposed to have been used. 

 In some of the tobacco brands, the potash was guaranteed as 

 carbonate and varying percentages of carbonate were actually 

 found. Of the seventeen analyses, representing five such brands, 

 the average potash found was 6.76%, of which 3.45% was un- 



