COMPLETE FERTILIZERS 131 



Farmers are also likely to be misled by the names 

 applied to the fertilizers, as potato specials, corn specials, 

 etc. One firm in Vermont sold three kinds of fertilizer 

 under thirty-three different names! One firm in New 

 York sells two grass fertilizers, one analyzing 1, 7, 2, and 

 one 9, 6, 6. They must be for different kinds of grass, 

 or more likely they are for two different kinds of farmers. 

 The former fertilizer is cheap, thus pleasing some persons, 

 the latter is adapted to grass, thus pleasing others. 



137. Home Mixing of Fertilizers. It is not a difficult 

 matter to mix fertilizers at home. The proper proportions 

 may be put together on a tight barn-floor and be shoveled 

 over a few times. If any of the ingredients are lumpy, 

 these should be put in first and the lumps crushed. Fer- 

 tilizer agents argue that the mixing is better done at the 

 factories. This may be true, but field experiments have 

 shown that the home-mixed ones produce as good crops 

 and are much cheaper. Sometimes a grange purchases 

 enough materials for a carload or more of fertilizer. The 

 mixing is then done at the factories at little or no expense. 



Suppose that it is desired to make ten tons of a 2, 7, 8 

 fertilizer. How much nitrate of soda (15.5 per cent), acid 

 phosphate (14 per cent) and muriate of potash (50 per 

 cent) will be required? This will require 20,000 X .02 = 

 400 pounds of nitrogen, 20,000 X. 07 =1,400 pounds phos- 

 phoric acid and similarly 1,600 pounds of potash. To 

 furnish these amounts will require: 



400-i-0.15o= 2,581 pounds of nitrate of soda 

 l,400-*-0.14 =10,000 pounds of acid phosphate 

 1,600-1-0.50 = 3,200 pounds of muriate of potash 



15,781 



