564 80ILS: PROPERTIES AND MANAGEMENT 



terial. While, obviously, one farmer alone cannot ail'ord 

 to buy direct from the wholesale dealer because of the 

 high freight charges on small lots, this objection is being 

 met by clubs and various organizations whereby the 

 single carriers may be bought in carload lots. 



It is evident that when a farmer mixes his own fertilizer 

 he is able to obtain not only pure goods, but high-grade 

 goods as well, thus reducing freight. Moreover, as a gen- 

 eral thing home mixing is cheaper than buying the ready- 

 mixed goods. A quotation from Connecticut 1 for 1 906 

 illustrates about what this saving may be : — 



Plant-Pood Purchased for $30 



Nitrogenous superphosphates 



Best quality .... 



Least valuable . . . 

 Special manures 



Best quality .... 



Lowest quality . . . 

 Home mixtures 



Average of all . . . . 



Pounds 



N 



73 

 23 



69 

 32 



77 



Pounds 

 Pj0 4 



188 

 279 



170 

 174 



200 



Pounds 

 KiO 



111 



53 



143 

 66 



168 



Total 



372 



382 

 272 



445 



A third point, and by some considered to be more im- 

 portant than those already discussed, is the educational 

 value of home mixing. No farmer can mix his own fertil- 

 izer without becoming familiar with the carriers, their 

 availability, and their effects. He is forced to study their 

 influence on the crops more closely, and thus is placed 



Jenkins, E. H., and Winton, A. L. Fertilizer Report. 

 Conn. (New Haven) Agr. Expt. Sta., Rept. 1906, Part I, pp. 

 1-106. 



