The valuations as published in our tables of analyses are no indi- 

 cation of the agricultural value of a fertilizer which is measured only 

 by the value of the increased yield of crop due to the use of any 

 particular brand of goods. 



The retail cash prices in this year's bulletin have 

 Retail Cash been obtained with the same care and along the 

 Prices and same lines as for the previous year. Whenever 

 Percentage of possible the prices obtained by our collector are 

 Difference. verified in writing at the time the analyses are re- 

 ported to the agents. All cases of wide discrepancies 

 in cash prices on the same fertilizer are taken up individually with the 

 agent ; the prices published, therefore, are quite representative. The 

 percentage excess of the average retail cash price per ton over the 

 calculated or commercial value of a fertilizer is the percentage of 

 difference. Those fertilizers having the smallest percentage of differ- 

 ence will furnish the greatest amount of plant food for the least money. 

 The average retail cash price per ton of the 318 samples of 

 complete fertilizers analyzed during the season of 1908 is $36.20; 

 the average commercial value is $25.81 ; and the percentage of 

 difference is 40.25. This, commonly called "overhead charges," 

 represents the cost in storing, grinding, mixing, bagging, hauling 

 and freighting the goods, as well as commissions to agents, long 

 credits, depreciation of factory plant and profits. It is not surpris- 

 ing, therefore, that the valuations fall so far below the retail cash 

 prices. A comparison of the above figures with those of the previous 

 year show that the average cost of a ton of complete commercial 

 fertilizer is 80 cents higher than for the season of 1907, while on the 

 other hand the average comparative commercial value is $1.62 more 

 per ton. This would indicate that the consumer of commercial 

 fertilizers has received slightly better value for his money the 

 present season. 



It would appear that it costs the average manufacturer some 40 

 per cent over the retail cost of the raw materials to manufacture them 

 into mixed fertilizers and place them upon the market at a profit under 

 existing methods of doing the business. If only a few staple brands 

 of high grade mixtures were made and sold to consumers through 

 their selected representatives, considerable of this excess cost would 

 be avoided and the farmer correspondingly benefited. This matter 

 is worthy of the attention of farmers' organizations. 



