209 



"The average value per ton of these mixtures 

 is $2.92, or 8.9 per cent, greater than their cost 

 at point of consumption. This sum, while worthy 

 of careful consideration by the farmers, by no 

 means represents the actual saving in the cost of 

 plant food that this method of buying offers over the 

 usual haphazard method of buying on credit from small 

 dealers and without regard to the source of materials used or 

 reliability of the manufacturer. The following results shown 

 by study of the analyses of complete fertilizers, made in 1890, 

 clearly illustrate this point, viz., that the value per 

 ton of the average of over 200 brands of com- 

 plete fertilizers was $28.37 anc ^ tne average selling 

 price $34.64, a difference of $6.27 per ton, or a 

 cost of 22.1 per cent, greater than the value; this 

 added to the 8.9 per cent, would make a total difference in 

 favor of home mixtures of 3 1 per cent. ; in other words, an 

 amount of plant food in a mixture that would cost on the 

 average $100 when bought in the form of raw materials and 

 mixed at home would, on the average, cost $131 when bought 

 in the usual manner in the form of manufactured brands. 



"The best forms of fertilizing materials are used in the 

 preparation of these formulas, as they will probably be found 

 to be the cheapest in the majority of cases. These are, as a 

 rule, in good mechanical condition, and can be bought direct 

 from the leading dealers or manufacturers, and should in all 

 cases be accompanied by a guaranteed composition. It is 

 important that the materials should be evenly mixed. This 

 can be easily done by forming on the barn floor or other dry 

 and level place, a series of layers of the different materials, 

 and working the heap over from the edge outward, breaking 

 all the lumps in the process; a few turnings will suffice to 



