PURCHASING PLANT-FOOD 



Brand Names. Notwithstanding all that has 

 been done by the state to acquaint the buying 

 public with the composition of fertilizers, many 

 purchasers are guided in selection by the brand 

 name, and that usually is fanciful in character, 

 no matter whether it be " Farmers' Friend " or 

 " Jones' Potato Fertilizer." In either case it 

 may be far from friendly to soil or pocket-book, and 

 widely at variance with the needs of the soil for 

 which it is purchased. The pretense of making 

 a fertilizer peculiarly adapted to the potato, or 

 to wheat, or to corn would not attract a single 

 buyer if the public would compare the analyses 

 of these special crop fertilizers offered by manu- 

 facturers and note their dissimilarity of composi- 

 tion. Any kind of a mixture may be given any 

 kind of a name. It is the composition that counts. 

 The farmer is in the market for nitrogen and phos- 

 phoric acid and potash, singly or combined, for 

 a certain soil, and all he wants is to know the 

 number of pounds he is getting, its availability, 

 and its price per pound. Any added detail not 

 required by law is an impertinence. 



Statement of Analysis. It would be well if 

 the law refused to the manufacturer the privilege 

 of printing unnecessary detail in the statement 



[191] 



