60 BULLETIN 355; U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTIJEE. 



Soutli. The farmers of the Atlantic dhdsion alone spent $59,625,130, or more than 

 half of the total. Most of the expenditure for fertilizers outside of the South was 

 reported from the three northeastern divisions of the countiy, the New England, 

 Middle Atlantic, and East North Atlantic. 



Fertilizer control. — Most of the States have enacted laws to govern 

 the sale of fertilizers. The laws generally require that the containing 

 packages shall show the guaranteed analysis of the materials. The 

 analyses are commonly reported in terms of nitrogen or of ammonia, 

 total and available phosphoric acid, and potash. 



Fertilizers containing about 2 per cent ammonia, 8 per cent phos- 

 phoric acid, and 2 per cent potash are very commonly found in the 

 market and are often known as 2:8:2 goods. Such fertihzers are 

 considered low grade. 



As stated before, nitrogen may be calculated from ammonia by 

 multiplying by 0.82, phosphorus from phosphoric acid by multiplying 

 by 0.4366, and potassium from potash by multiplying by 0.83. 

 Thus 2 per cent of ammonia X 0.82= 1.64 per cent of nitrogen. 



The use of mixed fertilizers. — There are so many different kinds of 

 soils in the United States, so many different crops grown, and so 

 many different conditions to meet, that it is wholly impracticable in 

 this treatise to attempt to give directions with regard to proportion 

 and quantity in the use of mixed fertilizers. The agricultural 

 experiment stations of the different States have conducted soil sur- 

 veys, soil analyses, and soil-fertihty experiments until there is now 

 a considerable fund of information with regard to the best use of 

 fertihzing materials for the tjrpes of soil and crops grown in each 

 State, and it is best to apply to one's own experiment station for this 

 information. In general, it is well to decide first how much nitrogen, 

 phosphorus, and potassium should be added to the soil for the crop 

 to be grown; then to compute the quantity of the different compounds 

 of these elements necessary to furnish what is desired; and, finally, 

 to use the materials which will furnish the elements needed in avail- 

 able form at the least cost. 



Home mixing of fertilizers. — Of late years farmers are beginning to 

 buy separately the fertilizer materials and to mix these materials 

 themselves as desired. Some of the advantages of this practice are: 

 (1) One can add to the soil at any time any one of the fertilizing 

 elements alone, or any combination of the elements, in the propor- 

 tions desired. (2) Many grades of complete fertihzers can be made, 

 as needed for different crops and soils, from only three materials. 

 (3) The buying and application of the fertilizers can be done more 

 intelligently, and often more cheaply. (Read pp. 476-490, Ref. 

 No. 7.) 



