FERTILIZER INSPECTION. 5 1 



Organic nitrogen exists in combination with others elements 

 either as vegetable or animal matter. All materials containing- 

 organic nitrogen are valuable in proportion to their rapidity of 

 decay, because change of form must take place before the nitro- 

 gen can serve as food. Organic nitrogen differs in availability 

 not only according to the kind of material which supplies it, but 

 according to the treatment it receives. The nitrogen in the 

 tables of analyses marked "insoluble in water" is organic nitro- 

 gen. 



Nitrogen as ammonia usually exists in commercial manures in 

 the form of sulphate of ammonia and is more readily available 

 than organic nitrogen. While nitrogen in the form of ammonia 

 is extremely soluble in water, it is not readily removed from the 

 soil by leaching, as it is held by the organic compounds of the 

 soil. 



Nitrogen as nitrate exists in commercial products chiefly as 

 nitrate of soda. Nitrogen in this form is directly and imme- 

 diately available, no further changes being necessary. It is 

 completely soluble in water, and diffuses readily throughout the 

 soil. It differs from the ammonia compounds in forming no 

 insoluble compounds with soil constituents and may be lost by 

 leaching. The "nitrogen soluble in water" of the tables 

 includes both the nitrogen as ammonia and as nitrate. 



Phosphoric acid is derived from materials called phosphates, 

 in which it may exist in combination with lime, iron, or alumina 

 as phosphates of lime, iron or alumina. Phosphate of lime is 

 the form most largely used as a source of phosphoric acid. 

 Phosphoric acid occurs in fertilizers in three forms : That solu- 

 ble in water and readily taken up by plants ; that insoluble in 

 water, but still readily used by plants, also known as "reverted ;" 

 and that soluble only in strong acids and consequently very 

 slowly used by the plant. The " soluble " and " reverted " 

 together constitute the "available" phosphoric acid. The phos- 

 phoric acid in natural or untreated phosphates is insoluble in 

 water, and not readily available to plants. If it is combined 

 with organic substance, as in animal bone, the rate of decay is 

 more rapid than if with purely mineral substances. The insol- 

 uble phosphates may be converted into soluble forms by treat- 

 ment with strong acids. Such products are known as acid 

 phosphates or superphosphates. The "insoluble phosphoric 

 acid" of a high cost commercial fertilizer has little or no value to 



