FERTILIZER INSPECTION. 6l 



regard to the content or form of plant food. The agricultural 

 value of a fertilizer depends upon the amount and form of nitro- 

 gen, phosphoric acid and potash it contains and the use to which 

 It is to be put. The purchase of a fertilizer is really the pur- 

 chase of one or more of these ingredients, and the thing of first 

 importance is not the trade value of a ton, but the kinds and 

 pounds of plant food contained in a ton. 



In the selection of a fertilizer, the first question to be decided 

 is, what use is to be made of it. Is it nitrogen, phosphoric acid 

 or potash that is needed, or is it any two or all three that must 

 be had? is the fertilizer to supplement farm manures, to act 

 as a "starter" for the crop or must it furnish all the plant food 

 for the crop ? 



Having decided just what plant food is needed, it is now tim.e 

 to corisult the fertilizer bulletin and see which of the brands 

 there given has an analysis nearest to the required one. In this 

 selection generally only high grade goods (those having high 

 percentages of plant food) should be considered, as high grade 

 goods cannot be made from inferior sources of plant food. Low 

 grade can be made from high grade goods by the use of "fillers," 

 but high grade goods cannot be made from other than high class 

 materials. Freight costs no more on a ton of goods having 500 

 pounds of plant food than on a ton having only 2(X) pounds of 

 plant food, nor is the cost of mixing a ton of high grade goods 

 greatei than the cost of mixing low grade goods. 



The final step is to inquire prices and buy the kind which 

 comes nearest to meeting the needs at the lowest price per ton. 

 1 he cost, although of great importance, is to be considered after 

 the kinds and amounts of plant food needed are decided upon. 



That which transcends everything else in the purchase of 

 fertilizers is to 'know what you want and then get it — get it a? 

 cheap as you can and still get the kind of plant food needed. No 

 one would think of buying salt for sugar because it can be 

 obtained at a lower price, but the writer has knowdedge of the 

 purchase of nitrogen when potash was needed, simply because 

 the trade value of a nitrogenous fertilizer as printed exceeded 

 its selling price. The fertilizer bulletin thus became misleading 

 to the unthinking man, and largely on this account the printing 

 of trade values was discontinued. 



