243 FERTILIZERS 



ton. That brings the cost of plant food per 

 pound to 7| cents instead of lOJ cents as in the 

 cheap grade. The manufacturer has added 

 $8.00 worth of potash to the mixture and 

 has taken out some of the worthless filler, so 

 that the extra cost in money to you is only 

 15.00. 



The increase in yield more than offsets that 

 extra cost. There are still other potash fertil- 

 izers that contain no nitrogen, the lower grades 

 selling for about $16 per ton, and the higher 

 grades for $20 per ton. The plant food in the 

 lower grade costs 6§ cents per pound and in the 

 high grade only a tiny fraction over 5^ cents per 

 pound. If you are spending your money for 

 commercial fertilizers, you will find that the best 

 is the cheapest. No matter what the mixture, 

 if you figure it out, you will find that the high 

 grade costs less per pound for plant food than 

 the low grade. And it is plant food you are 

 after, not worthless filler. 



The New York Experiment Station in one of 

 its bulletins offers the following comment on this 

 point : " The high-grade goods sell on an average 

 nearer to their actual plant-food value than do 

 the low-grade goods. In general, the higher the 

 grade of the goods, the lower the cost of each 

 pound of plant food." 



