252 SOILS 



do the work well before the rush and hurry of plowing 

 and planting. When you consider the fact that you are 

 receiving extremely good wages for mixing fertilizers, 

 you ought to give good service to this important piece of 

 farm work. You will find a tight-barn floor an excellent 

 place for the mixing, and the work will interfere in no 

 way with feeding and other barn work. 



Some people prefer a wagon box for this purpose, and 

 it is just as good : you have only to take your choice. 



In mixing the different materials, spread them over the 

 floor to a depth of five to ten inches, putting the bulkiest 

 fertilizer first. On top of this spread layers of the re- 

 maining materials ; then mix thoroughly, shoveling the 

 entire pile over several times. When a great many tons 

 are to be mixed, this operation will need to be repeated 

 often, and the materials bagged as mixed. You may find 

 some of the unmixed materials hard and lumpy in the 

 sacks; if so, just put them in a separate pile and break 

 up finely with maul or shovel. You will then have no 

 trouble in handling in the way indicated above. 



Some fertilizer problems. Fertilizing materials may be 

 used singly or in combination with others. A great num- 

 ber of combinations can be made to suit all sorts of soils 

 and every kind of crop, by using a few or many of the 

 fertilizing materials. To clearly understand these fertil- 

 izing problems, let us take them up one after another. 



Here is the first problem : Suppose a ton of home- 

 mixed fertilizer is made of 1,200 pounds of acid phos- 

 phate, 400 pounds of cotton-seed meal, and 400 pounds of 

 kainit. What will be the quantity of nitrogen, phos- 

 phorus, and potassium in a ton? 



Process : First, we must know the composition. In 

 nearly every State the law requires the correct analysis to 

 be printed or stamped on the bag in which the material is 



