60 BULLETIX 355, TJ. S. DEPARTMEXT OF AGRICULTURE. 
South. The farmers of the Atlantic division alone spent S59. 625.130, or more than 
half of the total. Most of the expenditure for fertilizers outside of the South was 
reported from the three northeastern divisions of the country, the New England, 
Middle Atlantic, and East North Atlantic. 
Fertilizer control. — Most of the States have enacted laws to govern 
the sale of f ertilizers. The laws generally require that the containing 
packages shall show the guaranteed analysis of the materials. The 
analyses are commonly reported in terms of nitrogen or of ammonia, 
total and available phosphoric acid, and potash. 
Fertilizers containing about 2 per cent ammonia, 8 per cent phos- 
phoric acid, and 2 per cent potash' are very commonly found in the 
market and are often known as 2:8:2 goods. Such fertilizers are 
considered low grade. 
As stated before, nitrogen may be calculated from ammonia by 
multiplying by 0.82, phosphorus from phosphoric acid by multiplying 
by 0.4366, and potassium from potash by multiplying by 0.83. 
Thus 2 per cent of ammonia X 0.82 = 1.64 per cent of nitrogen. 
The use of mixed fertilizers . — There are so many different kinds of 
soils in the United States, so many different crops grown, and so 
many different conditions to meet, that it is wholly impracticable in 
this treatise to attempt to give directions with regard to proportion 
and quantity in the use of mixed fertilizers. The agricultural 
experiment stations of the different States have conducted soil sur- 
veys, soil analyses, and soil-fertility experiments until there is now 
a considerable fund of information with regard to the best use of 
fertilizing materials for the types of soil and crops grown in each 
State, and it is best to apply to one's own experiment station for this 
information. In general, it is well to decide first how much nitrogen, 
phosphorus, and potassium should be added to the soil for the crop 
to be grown; then to compute the quantity of the different compounds 
of these elements necessary to furnish what is desired; and, finally, 
to use the materials which will furnish the elements needed in avail- 
able form at the least cost. 
Home mixing of fertilizers . — Of late years farmers are beginning to 
buy separately the fertilizer materials and to mix these materials 
themselves as desired. Some of the advantages of this practice are: 
(1) On'e can add to the soil at any time any one of the fertilizing 
elements alone, or any combination of the elements, in the propor- 
tions desired. (2) Many grades of complete fertilizers can be made, 
as needed for different crops and soils, from only three materials. 
(3) The buying and application of the fertilizers can be done more 
intelligently, and often more cheaply. (Read pp. 476-490, Ref. 
No. 7.) 
