subsequently this ammonia is changed to nitric acid. These 

 substances all have a tendency, therefore, to lessen the basicity 

 of the soil, or, in other words, they tend to make acid soils 

 slightly more acid than before, and alkaline soils less alkaline. 



It is possible for one who is thoroughly familiar with the 

 chemistry of these compounds and of these reactions to pre- 

 pare mixed fertilizers in such a way that they will not change 

 the chemical reaction of the soil, or they may be mixed so that 

 they will make the soil slightly more acid or slightly less acid, 

 as desired. You may ask if this has any practical significance. 

 In reply, I will merely mention the fact that in experiments 

 with cranberries I found that 350 pounds of a properly com- 

 pounded fertilizer gave $35 to $40 more profit to the acre than 

 the same quantity of a fertilizer which was not suitably 

 compounded. 



In regard to organic ammoniates, probably the best and most 

 effective is dried blood, but the quantity produced in the 

 entire country is so small that it is but a ''drop in the bucket'^ 

 by way of furnishing organic nitrogen for the 7,000,000 to 

 8,000,000 tons of fertilizer used per annum in the United 

 States. Another excellent source of organic nitrogen is fish 

 waste, but the supply of it is relatively small. The chief 

 sources of organic nitrogen are tankage, cottonseed meal, and 

 certain other waste materials. 



Did it ever occur to you that the fertilizer industry, by 

 treating waste wool, feathers, hair, and other materials so as 

 to make the nitrogen highly available, is helping to keep down 

 the price of nitrate of soda, sulfate of ammonia, blood, fish, 

 and tankage, and is thus performing a very distinct service to 

 users of fertilizers everywhere in the country? I refer to the 

 possibilities connected with the wet mixing of fertilizer. I 

 could, with your permission, take the hair from your heads, 

 your felt hat from beside you, the wool from the backs of your 

 sheep or waste wool from the industries, as well as many other 

 materials rich in nitrogen, and transform them by chemical 

 treatment into compounds which are completely or almost 

 completely soluble in water. Materials prepared by the wet 

 mixing process have been referred to in a bulletin published by 

 the United States Department of Agriculture as "processed 



