The "Bulk" in Fertilizers 



The 

 Bulk 

 in 

 Manure 



Plant 

 Foods 

 Always 

 Exist in 

 Combina- 

 tions 



Consumers often wonder what is the "bulk" of a ton of 

 fertilizer over and above the percentage of plant food. Thus^ 

 in a ton of high-grade fertilizer, only 400 lbs. of actual plant 

 food is supplied. For example: 



4 per cent of Ammonia equal to 



jQ «4 « ,i Phosphoric Acid " " 

 6 " *' " Potash 



80 lbs. in a ton 

 200 " " 

 120 " •• 



Balance or "bulk" of the ton 



400 lbs. 

 1,600 •• 



Total 



2,000 lbs. 



What is this 1,600 lbs. composed of? A part of it is really 

 plant food, but not in the sense that the ammonia, phosphoric 

 acid and potash are plant foods. It is plant food, chiefly 

 humus, that is not charged for in the price. We will not go 

 into a scientific analysis of this material, but every pound of 

 it can be properly accounted for without the addition of any 

 "filler" or make-weight. A cord of stable manure weighs about 

 4,000 lbs., but it contains not over 50 lbs. of actual plant food. 

 What is the "bulk" or "filler" of manure? 



Pure nitrogen, as we have seen, is a colorless gas, and in 

 that condition it cannot be used as food for either plants or ani- 

 mals. Potash and phosphoric acid do not exist in an uncom- 

 bined pure state in nature, and even if they did, such strong and 

 caustic elements would be dangerous to handle and absolutely 

 unfit for the tender rootlets to feed upon ; so we obtain or com- 

 bine them in forms suitable for agricultural uses. -^ 



The active content of meat is protein, but the stomach 

 could not digest protein in its pure state. We take it in beef- 

 steak, which is 85% water and fibre. Milk consists of from 11 

 to 15% soHds, composed of fats, sugar and cheese materials; the 

 balance is water, but we cannot extract the water and use only 

 the solids. The bulk of an apple, after the essential juice or 

 cider is extracted, is pomace, or fibre, which possesses little 

 or no value as food, but makes the "bulk" of the apple. Cer- 

 tain other things hold or carry plant food and constitute the 



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