THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
73 
Some Fertilizer Facts. 
Prices for Chemicals; Bone. 
L. G., Smithville, Pa.— 1. In The R. N.-Y. quotations of agricul¬ 
tural chemicals, pure fine bone is quoted at $21 to $23 while the 
farmer has to pay dealers from $30 to $35 per ton. Where can it be 
bought at the prices quoted ? 2. Will pure fine ground bone give 
as good results on a corn crop as the dissolved bone ? 3. What 
can be added to ground bone, and in what form, to make it equal 
to ammoniated dissolved bone with potash ? 4. Where is land 
plaster manufactured ? 5. In what form would you advise me to 
buy potash ? Where can I get it at the market quotations ? 
Ans. —1. We have carefully stated that these prices 
are for very large lots—they simply indicate the price 
to the large dealers in New York. The local dealer 
has to include freight, commission, profits and cost of 
handling. 2. Yes, in a general way, we would as 
soon have a ton of fine raw bone as a ton of dissolved 
bone for corn. The fine raw bone would contain more 
nitrogen and available phosphoric acid, because the 
dissolved bone will contain a heavy weight of acid. 
For example, to “ dissolve” a ton of bone, it would be 
necessary to add to it 1,000 pounds of acid. A ton of 
“dissolved bone” would be two-thirds of this mixture 
of acid and bone. The value of using the acid is a 
point we will discuss later. 3. You can add muriate 
of potash and a small amount of nitrate of soda to the 
bone and have a good mixture for grain crops. 4. 
Land plaster is simply ground fine—generally at the 
mines. 5. As a rule, it is cheapest in the form of 
muriate. In small lots, you can buy of the dealers 
advertising in The R. N.-Y. 
What Chemicals with Manure ? 
A. I)., South Holland , III.—We are situated 18 miles south of Chi¬ 
cago. The soil varies from a sandy to a black loam, and will raise 
all kinds of truck. We use horse manure, which is shipped from 
Chicago at $10 a car-load on track here. The cars average 20 
to 25 tons each, but manure is getting scarcer every year. What 
commercial fertilizers could. I profitably use in connection with 
this coarse manure, and how much per acre ? What is the aver¬ 
age price of such fertilizers ? How can I best raise clover to plow 
under where I have no stock to feed except work horses ? What 
kind of clover would be best here ? 
Ans.—S o long as you can buy good stable manure 
at 50 cents a ton, we advise you to use it, unless you 
find serious objections to its use—such as bad roads 
for hauling, or too many weeds in the crop. Let us see 
how average stable manure compares with the com¬ 
position of various crops : 
POUNDS TO THE TON. 
Nitrogen. 
Phos. acid. 
Potash. 
Average manure. 
. 10 
5 
12 
Potatoes. 
. 7 
3.2 
11.4 
Shelled corn. 
. 36.4 
14 
8 
Sugar beets. 
. 6.1 
1.6 
7.8 
Turnips. 
Carrots. 
. 3.6 
1.9 
6.6 
. 4.4 
2 
5.5 
Cabbage. 
. 5 
2.8 
13 
Standard fertilizer for 
vegetables. 80 
160 
120 
The chief value of stable manure is that it provides 
nitrogen. The phosphoric acid and potash are not 
only lacking in quantity, but are not in the most sol¬ 
uble condition. The proportions of the “standard” 
mixture have been determined by many careful ex¬ 
periments for a/verwje soil. Your soil, having received 
large quantities of stable manure—with its great 
excess of nitrogen—may not need so much of that 
substance, but it is readily seen that extra potash and 
phosphoric acid are needed to “balance” the nitro¬ 
gen in the manure. This table shows why we advo¬ 
cate the use of bone and muriate of potash with stable 
manure. It is for the same reason that we would add 
grain to hay for cattle to make a “ balanced ration.” 
A “ balanced ration ” for vegetables ought to contain 
twice as much phosphoric acid, and at least 134 time 
as much potash as it contains nitrogen. By adding 25 
pounds of muriate of potash and 100 pounds of fine 
boDe to each ton of manure,you will have better results, 
because the proportion will be better. It is not neces¬ 
sary to mix these chemicals with the manure—broad¬ 
cast and harrow them in in the proper proportions. 
For instance, if you use 20 loads of manure per acre, 
use 500 pounds of muriate and a ton of bone. We would 
do that until the manure increases in price to $1 a ton, 
and then use a mixture of muriate, bone and blood, 
and nitrate of soda with clover for green manure. 
We cannot give the prices at Chicago—the boDe will 
be cheaper and the muriate higher than in New York. 
We would experiment with Crimson clover sown in 
the crops at the last cultivation. 
Some Wrong Ideas About Chemicals. 
A. 1). W., Poll, Ind. —I have a field of nine acres, that I wish to 
sow to oats next spring. The laud will grow about 50 bushels of 
corn per acre, and about 40 bushels of oats. I have it already 
plowed deep, and expect to sow the oats and cover them with a 
Cutaway harrow next spring. Will it be possible to put on ferti¬ 
lizers that will make the field yield 100 bushels of oats per acre ? 
If it can be done, what will be the expense per acre, and when 
should it be applied—this winter, or next spring when I sow the 
oats ? If I could raise a crop of 100 bushels per acre, I could sell 
them largely for seed .and make a good profit. 
Ans. —That question well illustrates a popular idea 
about fertilizers—that they are stimulants, valuable 
chiefly to push a plant along to an abnormal growth. 
Now, fertilizers are food for plants in a condensed 
form. Here, let us say, are milk and cheese. The 
cheese is the milk with a lot of its water driven off. 
The milk contains the same food that the cheese does, 
but in the latter it is concentrated, but that concen¬ 
tration does not make it a stimulant ! The same with 
fertilizers and stable manure. The former contain 
the plant food that is in the manure, but in a more 
concentrated and soluble form. It is like a lump of 
sugar by the side of a big beet from which the sugar 
is made. Suppose you were to train a man for a prize 
fight ! Would you take him a day before he stepped 
into the ring, and fill him up witli the strongest food 
you could get him to eat? No ; you would take him 
six months beforehand, and thoroughly prepare him 
—make him work, and sleep, and practice boxing, and 
live temperately—feeding him on strong but very 
digestible food that would make muscle and give him 
lung power. The same with growing 100 bushels of 
oats on an acre. To do it, you should go back of the 
clover crop that preceded the corn, and give every 
crop in the rotation the best possible care so as to 
have the soil just right. Then get pure, strong seed 
of the variety best suited to your soil and locality, and 
put it in as well as possible. There is much more in 
that than in the fertilizer. We have no doubt that 400 
pounds to the acre of a fertilizer rich in potash and 
phosphoric acid, will help the oats. We would not 
guarantee 100 bushels to the acre, neither would we 
guarantee that the increased.yield will pay the cost 
of the fertilizer. We would as soon tell a woolen 
manufacturer that by throwing more coal under his 
boiler, he will make more cloth. 
Figuring the Value of a Fertilizer. 
A. L. 1)., Long Inland, N. Y.— Which of the following fertilizers 
is the cheapest, according to analysis : 
Ammonia. Phos. acid. Potash. Price. 
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per ton. 
No. 1. 5 8 10 $28.00 
No. 2. 4 7 7 22.90 
No. 3. 4 7 9 24.00 
No. 4. 5 5 7 26.00 
The ammonia of the above is obtained mostly from fish scrap, with 
some nitrate of soda. What are the present commercial valua¬ 
tions of three essential fertilizing constituents, such as may be 
used in making the commercial valuation of a fertilizer ? 
Ans. —We assume that the phosphoric acid men¬ 
tioned is all available—that is, soluble enough to be 
used at once by plants. The trade values of fertilizers 
have been agreed upon as follows : Nitrogen, 1834 
cents per pound, phosphoric acid 534 cents, potash 4)4. 
“ Ammonia” is 14 parts nitrogen, and three parts 
hydrogen ; the latter substance has no fertilizing 
value. So a pound of ammonia is worth 14-17 or .824 
of 1834 cents or 15 
34 cents. 
This is the way you 
would 
figure the values of these fertilizers : 
No. 1. 
No. 2. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
100 ammonia at 15 l A- 
.... $15.25 
80 ammonia at 1554- • ■ 
.. $12.20 
160 phos. acid at 5>4. 
. 8. HO 
140 phos. acid at 514 — 
.. 7.70 
200 potash at 414_ 
. 9.00 
140 potash at 4“4. 
.. 6.40 
Total. 
. $33.05 
Total. 
.. $26.30 
No. 3. 
No. 4. 
Pounds. 
Pounds. 
80 ammonia at 15 '4 
. $12.20 
100 ammonia at 15q... 
.. $15.25 
140 phos. acid at 5J4 
. 7.70 
100 phos. acid at 534- • • 
.. 5.50 
180 potash at 4(4-_ 
. 8.10 
140 potash at 4 S4. 
. 6.30 
Total. 
. $28.00 
Total. 
.. $27.05 
Remember now just what these trade values mean. 
In this connection, it will pay you to read over the 
article on manurial values of feeds on page 818 of 
last year’s R. N.-Y. This trade value is simply a fair 
average of the prices paid for the different articles 
containing these fertilizing substances. It is valuable 
for comparison , and not entirely accurate for that, 
since, as in the present case some localities may offer 
one substance far below the average price. For 
instance, in this case, near the ocean on Long Island, 
fish scrap ought to be very cheap and that, of course, 
reduces the cost of nitrogen and phosphoric acid. At 
the same time, the comparison is very fair. Figured 
out for comparison, these four fertilizers will show 
the following : 
Value for $1 
Cost. Valuation. of cost. 
No. 1....$28.00 $33.05 $1.18 
No. 2 . 22.90 26.30 1.10 
No. 3. 24.00 28.00 1.16 
No. 4. 26.00 27.05 1.04 
We hope that these details about figuring the value of 
a fertilizer, will answer many similar questions—but 
let the reader remember that these values are only 
comparative, and do not concern the Quality of the 
goods or the proper “ balance” of the three necessary 
ingredients. 
BUSINESS BITS. 
Anotheh good place to get berry baskets is the Berlin Fruit Box 
Co., Berlin Heights, O. The company make all kinds of fruit 
packages and berry supplies. 
The Fog Nozzle is used by the Chase Pump Company, Canton, O. 
The name comes from the fact that it throws a spray like a fog. 
The firm make a large line of spray pumps also. 
We are often asked questions by mail that are answered in our 
advertising columns. We believe every advertisement In the 
paper is signed by a responsible and reliable house. If we did 
not think so, the advertisement would not appear in our paper. 
The Clark’s Cutaway harrow has been before the people so long 
that its merits as a soil pulverizer are pretty well known. Those 
not familiar with it should send for description to the Cutaway 
Harrow Co., Higganum, Conn. 
We have said a great deal about Pantasote, as we do about all 
new things that we believe to have especial merit. It is used for 
covers and upholstering in place of leather or plush. The Panta¬ 
sote Leather Co., 41 Leonard Street, New York, have two neat cir¬ 
culars, “ The Old Arm Chair” and “The Cozy Lounge” which they 
will send free. 
The thermometer has more to do with the success of an incuba¬ 
tor than most people imagine. In order to make a perfect ther¬ 
mometer, the glass of the tubes must be at least two years old 
before it is graduated. It takes this time for the glass to contract 
to its original size after having been heated to the melting point. 
We can’t tell all about it here; but Taylor Bros., Rochester, N. Y., 
who have been in the business over 40 years, will be glad to send 
full information. 
More Oats and Straw, More Large Potatoes, 
More Corn and Stalk, More Vegetables, 
More Luscious Fruit, More Growth of Young Trees and Shrubs, 
FOLLOW THE JUDICIOUS USE OF THE 
Made by THE CLEVELAND DRYER COMPANY, who have made a full line of scientifically-made 
Fertilizers for different soils and crops. We makegoods that insure a profit for those who use them. Nitrate 
Soda—Sulphate Potash—Muriate Potash—Sulphate Ammonia—Dried Flesh—Dried Blood—Soluble Phosphoric 
Acid—always on hand for those desiring to compound their own formulas. 
THE CLEVELAND DRYER CO., 130 Summit St., Cleveland, Ohio. 
IRON AGE 
When you buy a tool bearing the trade-mark “IRON 
rest assured it is a good tool, and 
that you are getting the best to be 
had. Do not allow your dealer to 
sell you any other make. Ask for 
the IRON AGE, and have it. W'e 
also manufacture 
the I m p roved 
Robbins Po¬ 
tato Planter, 
Etc., Etc. 
AGE,” you may always 
O 
For nearly sixty 
years we have 
been studying the 
wants of the 
farmer, and claim 
our line is unex¬ 
celled for 
QUALITY and 
CHEAPNESS 
VVE HiiCHLiW The Bombastic, Windy Ltterances 
of our competitors. We all know “whence it cometh,” 
but wonder “ whither it goeth.” 
IN SETTING FORTH THE MERITS OF OUR 
UNITED STATES 
^SEPARATOR 
We will let the practical users themselves 
speak for the machine. 
NOTH Tim 1'OThOWING: 
PROPRIETORS OP 31 CREAMERIES. 
The No. 1-B. U. S. Separators are running to our entire satisfaction and fulfil your 
guarantee. They are doing very close work. In ten tests of two machines, running together 
4,455 lbs. per hour, hardly a trace of fat was discernible. 
Lime Springs, Ia., June 20, 1894. WM. BEARD & SONS. 
5,000 POUNDS IN TWO HOURS. HARDLY A TRACE. 
We have run over 5,000 lbs. of milk in two hours through the No. 1-B. U. S. Separator, 
and it does its work well. We could hardly find a trace of fat in the skimmed milk. 
WHITNEY’S Pt., N. Y., Nov. 20, 1894. BARNES & WHITTAKER. 
CANNOT SPEAK TOO HIGHLY OF THE U. S. 
I cannot speak too highly of yotir No. 1-B. U. S. Separator which I have been using 
the past season. It has a large capacity, is a clean skimmer and never gets out of repair. 
Cortland, N. Y., Oct. i 2 , 1894 . , E. C. R1NDGE. 
Catalogue containing full description ■Jbf- VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO. 
a-.l testimonials. ASK FOR IT. Bd! nw , p,h 5 vfpmomt. 
DRAIN TILE 
C. W. BOYNTON, News- 
Sowaren, IKT. J. paper. 
r A DM Tfl | C A CC 1 want to lease my farm 
iHnlYI IU LLHoL of 223 acres, on Hudson 
River to responsible party, with sufficient means to 
work same to advantage. Especially adapted to Po¬ 
tatoes, Corn and Cabbage. 
FORDYCE S. CALDWELL, 2 Wall St., New York. 
