186 Fertilizers 



Third. It is a system which more nearly approaches 

 perfection than any other that has been devised, is edu- 

 cative in its tendency, and is a safe guide, in the majority 

 of instances, as to the charges made for mixing, handling 

 and selling plant-food contained in the different brands. 

 If the analysis is properly interpreted, as already indicated, 

 it is the purchaser's fault if he buys poor forms of plant- 

 food at a high price. It is certainly a safer guide than 

 mere name of brand, and does not encourage the use of 

 poor materials. 



Fourth. Any system of comparison of brands must 

 leave a great deal to the judgment of the purchaser. 

 He must interpret for himself whether he would rather 

 that his phosphoric acid were derived from one source 

 or another, whether he would prefer to pay a higher 

 price for insoluble phosphoric acid in acid phosphate, 

 and have the remainder soluble, than to pay the same 

 or a greater price for the insoluble phosphoric acid in 

 bone, and have the remainder of it in the reverted form. 

 These conditions are again indicated by the analysis which 

 accompanies the valuation ; the valuations are, therefore, 

 not to be used in total disregard of the composition. If 

 they are so used, it is not the fault of the system. That 

 it militates against the use of high-priced superphos- 

 phates, if they are no better than the lower-priced ones, 

 is no argument against the system, but rather for it, since 

 it tends toward a readjustment of the prices, a condition 

 that must be met in all competitive trades. Furthermore, 

 the valuation system has been effective in driving out ma- 

 terials that are either fraudulent in their character or of 

 very low-grade. It is impossible to obtain a high valua- 

 tion on poor materials, and in the majority of cases de- 

 pendence upon valuations alone would be a safe guide 



