CHAPTER XXIII 

 COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS CONCLUDED 



THE HOME MIXING OF FERTILIZERS 



WHEN a considerable amount of fertilizer is used 

 a better plan than buying mixed fertilizer is to buy 

 the raw materials and mix them yourself. For ex- 

 ample, a farmer is about to plant five acres of cab- 

 bages for the market. He finds that a certain suc- 

 cessful cabbage grower recommends the use of fifty 

 pounds nitrogen, fifty pounds phosphoric acid and 

 seventy pounds potash per acre. For the five acres 

 this will mean 250 pounds nitrogen, 250 pounds 

 phosphoric acid and 350 pounds potash. To fur- 

 nish the nitrogen he can buy 1,613 pounds of nitrate 

 of soda or 2,500 pounds dried blood or 1,250 pounds 

 sulphate of ammonia, or a part of each. To furnish 

 the phosphoric acid he can buy 1,786 pounds acid 

 phosphate. Seven hundred pounds of either sul- 

 phate or muriate of potash will furnish the potash. 

 These materials can be easily mixed by spreading 

 in alternate layers on a smooth floor and then shov- 

 elling over the entire mass several times. The mix- 

 ture can be further improved by passing it through 

 a sand or coal screen or sieve. 



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