Out of the three hundred odd brands of ready mixed 



Selection and fertilizers that are annually sold in Massachusetts, it 



Purchase of is no easy matter for a farmer to make a judicious 



Fertilizers. selection. A few suggestions at this time, therefore, 



may not be out of place. It is poor judgment to 

 buy a fertilizer because it costs but little per ton unless it contains a 

 fair value of plant food. The higher the grade and more concen- 

 trated the fertilizer, the cheaper will be the plant food it contains, 

 also the less bulk and weight to handle, thus reducing freight charges. 

 The low grade fertilizer is the most expensive one to buy as a general 

 thing. Examples of the purchase of a low and high grade fertilizer 

 will illustrate these points. 



Supposing a ton of low grade fertilizer is bought for $25.00, 

 analyzing 1 per cent nitrogen, 8 per cent phosphoric acid, and 

 3 percent potash; and a ton of high grade goods is bought for 

 $40.00, analyzing 2>y2 per cent nitrogen, 8 per cent phosphoric 

 acid and 10 per cent potash. It will be seen that the high grade 

 fertilizer contains the same amount of phosphoric acid /'/// over three 

 times as much nitrogen and potash as does the loiv grade : it might be 

 reasonably expected therefore, to sell for nearly three times as much 

 but in reality it sells for less than once and three-quarters of what 

 is paid for the low grade article. When, therefore, a ton of the low 

 grade goods costs $25.00, one-third of a ton of high grade would 

 furnish about the same amount of plant food and at a cost of $13.33 

 thereby saving $ir.67. On the basis of ten tons of the $25.00 

 good^, costing $250.00, the same results could be obtained by the 

 use of $133.00 worth of the high grade fertilizer and a saving of 

 $116.00 would result. 



The above certainly furnishes a strong argument in favor of pur- 

 chasing the better grades of ready mixed fertilizers. There is also 

 another advantage to be considered, namely, the quality of the plant 

 food furnished by the two grades. High grade goods must be made 

 from high grade materials as the following illustrations will show. 



rco lbs. Nitrate of Soda, 



450 " Dried Blood, 

 1000 " Acid Phosphate, 



400 '• High Grade Sulphate of Potash. 



2000 lbs. 

 A ton of the above fertilizer furnishes 3.6 per cent nitrogen, 8 per 

 cent available phosphoric acid, and 10 per cent potash, and allows 



