no MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. I9I3. 



The commercial valuation of a fertilizer consists in calculat- 

 ing the retail traie-value or cash-cost at freight centers (in raw 

 materials of good quality) of an amount of nitrogen, phospho- 

 ric acid and potash equal to that contained in one ton of the 

 fertilizer. Plaster, lime, stable manure and nearly all of the less 

 expensive fertilizers have variable prices, which bear no close 

 relation to their chemical composition, but guanos, superphos- 

 phates and similar articles, for which $20 to $75 per ton are 

 paid, depend for their trade value exclusively on the substances, 

 nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, which are comparatively 

 costly and steady in price. The trade value per pound of the 

 mgredients is reckoned from the current market prices of the 

 standard articles which furnish them to commerce. The con- 

 sumer, in estimating the reasonable price to pay for high-grade 

 fertilizers, should add to the trade-value of the above-named 

 ingredients a suitable margin for the expenses of manufacture, 

 etc., and for the convenience or other advantage incidental to 

 their use. 



For many years this Station has not printed an estimate of- 

 the commercial value of the different brands licensed in the 

 State, If any one wishes to calculate the commercial value he 

 can do so by using the trade values adopted for 19 13 by the 

 Experiment Stations of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, 

 New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont. 

 These valuations represent the average retail prices at which 

 these ingredients could be purchased during the three months 

 preceding March i, 1913, in ton lots at tide water in southern 

 New England. On account of the greater distance from the 

 large markets the prices for Maine at tide water would probably 

 be somewhat higher than those quoted. 



TRADE VALUE;s OE FERTILIZING INGREDIENTS EOR I913. 



Cents per pound. 



Nitrogen in nitrates 18^ 



in ammonia salts 18^ 



Organic nitrogen in dry and fine ground fish and blood. . . 20 



in cottonseed meal and castor pomace. . 20 

 in fine bone and tankage and in mixed 



fertilizers 19 



in coarse bone and tankage 15 



