AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 7 



SPECIAL MENTION OF CERTAIN FERTILIZERS. 



No. 481 is a fertilizer somewhat nuusual in character for our 

 ■markets, consisting of equal parts of cotton-seed meal and the ash 

 of cotton-seed hulls, it is claimed. The ingredients, as might be 

 expected, are largely available. The special characteristic of this 

 fertilizer is its large percentage of potash (9.19 per cent.), so that 

 it would be especially valuable for those needing a potash manure. 



Gile's -Home-made Superphosphate No. 500 is manufactured 

 according to the following recipe : 



"Take one ton of bone meal and five barrels of hard wood 

 ashes, mix thoroughly in a water-tight tank and fill with water, all 

 that will soak in. Let this mixture stand at least two weeks and. 

 keep wet. Don't let it dry. At the end of two weeks, mix the 

 above with twice its bulk of muck and loam, in equal parts. Mix 

 very thoroughly by machinery and pile in a heap to dry. Do not 

 let it dry enough to heat, and keep it from the air as much as 

 possible." 



This fertilizer is sold at the factory for $20 per ton, cash. The 

 station valuation is $8.24. As the station valuation is generally 

 about 20 per cent less than the selling price of the best factory 

 made superphosphates, the price of the article in question should 

 be about $10 per ton. 



The estimate of a fair price can be reached in another way. 

 One ton of bone meal and not far from fifteen bushels (600 lbs.) 

 of hard wood ashes are thoroughly saturated with water, and to 

 this quantity of wet material is added twice its bulk of equal parts 

 of loam and muck. We have therefore. — 



Weight. 



Bone meal 20U0 lbs., costing $35.00* 



Ashes, live barrels, (15 bu.) 600 ■• " 3.75 



Muck, loam and water 6500 " 



9100 lbs., .«;38.75 



Selling- price of 9000 lbs., (4^ tons) at $20. per ton 90.00 



Difference between selling price of bone and ashes and fertilizer, .§51.25 



It is assumed that the muck, loam and water added will weigh 

 two and one half times the original bone and ashes, which is 

 certainly a low estimate. One ton of bone and five barrels of 

 ashes are therefore converted into four and one-half tons of 

 fertilizer for which the consumers are asked to pa}' $90. Any 

 farmer can buy the bone and ashes for not more than $38.75 



* This price should secure the best quality of ground bone. 



