Commercial Fertilizers. 165 



It will be seen that the price per pound of plant food is very 

 ijmuch less in high grade goods than in low grade goods, and 

 ! further, that the essential elements can be purchased separately 

 ilinore cheaply than in any mixed fertilizer. 



Home mixing. The above facts emphasize the wisdom of the 

 'purchase of basal materials and home mixing. The difference in 

 cost of complete fertilizers and the basal materials per pound 

 of plant food is to be partly attributed to the expense of bagging 

 and mixing. This, Voorhees has shown to amount to about $8.50 

 per ton. That this practice of home mixing is entirely satisfac- 

 tory has been abundantly proven by the Eastern Experiment 

 iStations. It allows the uniting of the different elements in the 

 proportions which have been found to meet best the requirements 

 :>f the crop and the soil on which the crop is to be raised. By 

 buying the basal materials separately it is possible to apply the 

 different elements at different times. This point may be of 

 sjreat advantage in feeding a crop, especially one needing large 

 'quantities of nitrogen. 



The conditions and materials necessary to do the mixing are 

 a good, tight barn-floor, or a dry, smooth earth-floor, platform 

 scales, rake, hoe, shovel and screen. 



Selection of commercial fertilizers. It is impossible to give 

 definite directions as to the kinds and quantities of fertilizers 

 * required for different crops, because soils differ greatly in their 

 ; Itotal content of plant food, and we have no direct and safe meth- 

 i id by which the amounts of available plant food can be accur- 

 ; itely determined. By noting carefully the growing crops, we 

 nay get in a general way, some valuable suggestions as to which 

 )f the constituents is probably lacking in a soil. For instance, 

 the crop has a deep green color, with well -developed leaf 

 stalk and luxuriant growth, it may be assumed that the soil 

 ts not deficient in nitrogen and potash! A rank and excessive 

 growth of leaf and stem, with imperfect bud and flower develop- 

 ment indicate excessive nitrogen for the potash and phosphoric 



