APPENDIX. 



133 



Reference is made to the fertilizers offered for sale by The 

 Chemical Compound Fertilizer Co., otherwise Mason, Chapin & Co., 

 Providence, E. I. 



From the published reports of this company and from the testi- 

 mony of correspondents, concerning - the price asked and the claims 

 made by their agents, etc., we learn: 



1st. The compounding* of the fertilizers is a secret process. 

 "The exact method in which this is accomplished is a secret of great 

 value to us and which we do not propose to give away to the public." 



2nd. The phosphoric acid is classed as "soluble in the soil," which 

 to the chemist is an indefinite and suspicious form of statement. 



3rd. Xo statements are made as to "whether the fertilizers contain 

 potash or not. They are advertised as containing certain percentages 

 of "alkali," which may be interpreted as either potash or soda. 



4th. Written testimony shows that the agent offering- these fer- 

 tilizers claims that 600 pounds of the form for potatoes "would be 

 found equal to a ton of the ordinary superphosphates. 



5th. The fertilizers have been offered at the remarkable price of 

 $55 per ton. 



Fortunately for the farmers such new materials as the above are, 

 in these days, very soon brought to the test of a severe investig'a- 

 tion. Samples of these particular fertilizers have been examined at 

 the Connecticut and Maine Experiment Stations, and the results of 

 the analyses make these peculiar claims appear rather grotesque, 

 and the price highly exorbitant. The following- are the analyses: 



Connecticut 

 Analyses. 





c © 



O I* 



fa l 



Maine 

 Analyses. 



Nitrogen in nitrates 



Phosphoric acid soluble in -water 



Phosphoric acid "reverted" 



Phosphoric acid insoluble 



Phosphoric acid total 



Potash 



Valuation 



Selling price 



4.03 

 .11 



2.20 

 11.51 

 13. S2 



$18 S4 

 50 00 



2.38 



10.08 

 12.68 



1.47 



.29 



2.08 



13.70 



16.07 



§17 23 

 50 00 



§12 3S 

 50 00 



;.4;; 



1.93 

 13.00 



14.93 



.14 



§17 73 



2.11 



9.48 



11.59 



.26 



§17 14 



55 00 



An examination at the Connecticut Experiment Station still more 

 exhaustive makes it evident that the fertilizers are made up by mix- 

 ing nitrate of soda, some crude, ground phosphate and probably soda 

 ash. 



