630 Low quality Manures at Excessive Prices, [nov. 



phate, and basic slag. Nitrogen may, however, be pur- 

 chased in cheap forms in organic substances (see Leaflet 

 No. 175, Waste Organic Substances as Manures), while 

 insoluble phosphates can be purchased in the form of ground 

 rock phosphates at little more than half the sum they cost 

 in basic slag. Assuming the nitrogen to have been derived 

 from a low-grade shoddy and the phosphates from rock 

 phosphates, the manures could have been compounded at 

 the following cost respectively* : — 





s. 



d. 



s. 



d. 



(1) Nitrogen 1-23 



... = 7 









Sol. phosphates 5*0 



- - 10 



?! 



= 18 



5 



Insol. phosphates 1 "5 



= 1 









(2) Nitrogen 1 ' 15 



... = 6 



" i 



= 12 



2 



Phosphates 7*0 



... = 5 







(3) Nitrogen = Ammonia 



1 -4 = 6 



11 I 



= 12 



1 r 



Phosphates 8'0 



... = 6 



0 j 



(4) Nitrogen 1 to 1*25 ... 



= 6s. to 7 



6 ) 



— 10 



6 to 



Phosphates 6 to 7 ... 



= 4s. 6d. to 5 



3 1 



12 



9 



These figures, it will be seen, vary from 10s. 6d. to 18s. 6d. 

 It would indeed be possible to indicate even cheaper materials 

 than those mentioned above, from which a manures" having 

 the composition of (2), (3), and (4) might be prepared, 

 materials which it would not pay the farmer to apply if he 

 got them for nothing ! 



The loss to the farmer, however, does not lie merely in 

 the fact that he pays £3 10s. for something which at most 

 is only worth 19s. to 26s., and may be worth no more than 

 105. 6d. to 18s. 5d. A much more serious loss arises from 

 the fact that the fertilising value of the manure is so low that 

 it may be quite ineffective for the purpose in view. 



In a recent action in Scotland, where a farmer purchased 

 a manure, relying on the skill and judgment of the seller, 

 and the manure was found to be not reasonably fit for the 

 purpose for which it was purchased, it was held that the 

 purchaser was not liable to pay the price of the manure, and 

 damages were awarded him for loss due to failure of the 

 crop. 



Buyers should not be misled by suggestions that compound 

 manures have a value which is not indicated by the analysis. 

 For example, it is frequently claimed by the sellers of such 



* The unit values being .-—Nitrogen in shoddy, 6s. ; phosphates in rock 

 phosphates, gd. 



