102 
THE RURAI? NEW-YORKER. 
February 17 
SELECTING CHEMICALS FOR FERTILIZER. 
I have before me a card of prices for agricultural chemi¬ 
cals, of which a copy is given below, and from it I wish 
you would advise me which kinds and how much of each 
I should use for crops and ground mentioned. 
Per cent. Per ton. 
Muriate of potash, 80 to 85.$42.50 
Sulphate of potash, 50 to 55 . 28.00 
High grade potash, 90 to 95 . 47.50 
Kainit, 12 to 14 actual potash. 14.00 
Nitrate of soda, 19 to 20 ammonia. 45.00 
Dissolved bone black, 16 to 18 sol. and avail. 
p. acid . 22.00 
Plain superphosphate, 12 to 14 sol. and avail, 
p. acid . 15.00 
Fine-ground bone, 20 to 22 phos. acid. 28.00 
Fine-ground bone, 20 to 22 phos. acid.28.00 
I have about one-fourth of an acre of what I suppose is 
called a gravel loam; good ground, potatoes last year, no 
manure. I wish to try cow peas this year. Give me a 
list of chemicals that will help my tract to success. Three 
acres of about same ground, plowed last Fall, no manure; 
1 wish to plant corn. Give me chemicals for it, also for 
a lighter ground heavily manured this Winter, to be 
plowed under for corn In Spring. Last and most import¬ 
ant, give me a mixture for early potatoes on a sandy 
loam running to a heavier tile-drained ground. Earliness 
the one most important thing desired, with a reasonable 
yield. J- T. h. 
North Salem, N. Y. 
Ans. —Let us first pick these chemicals apart, and 
put them side by side for comparison. Here are the 
guaranteed amounts of plant food per t 
Nitro¬ 
gen. 
Muriate of potash. 
Double sulphate of potash. 
High grade potash.'.. 
Kainit . •••• 
Nitrate of soda. 320 
Sulphate of ammonia. 480 
Dis. bone black. 
Plain superphosphate . 
Ground bone and meat. 150 
Fine-ground bone . 55 
In round numbers these figures will show what you 
can buy for $1. You will see that the muriate is the 
cheaper form of potash. Sulphate of ammonia costs 
too much, and we would not use it except in the case 
of early potatoes, as we will explain later. The acid 
phosphate is cheaper than the bone black. As be¬ 
tween the bone and the bone and meat, the latter is 
the cheaper source of organic nitrogen. 
On the cow-pea field we would use for one-quarter 
acre 40 pounds of muriate of potash, 100 pounds of 
acid phosphate, which, in the table, is called plain 
superphosphate, and 30 pounds of nitrate of soda. 
You will obtain a fair crop of peas without the ni¬ 
trate, but on that poor soil a little nitrogen will 
quicken them up. For the corn ground, without ma¬ 
nure, we would use for each acre a mixture of 80 
pounds muriate of potash, 50 pounds nitrate of soda, 
250 pounds acid phosphate and 120 pounds good bone 
and meat. Of course the amount required for all 
three acres can be mixed at one time. Where the 
manure was used we would drop out 20 pounds of 
muriate, 80 of bone and meat, and 20 of nitrate. For 
an early crop of potatoes you can use 100 pounds 
nitrate of soda, 50 pounds sulphate of ammonia, 200 
pounds bone and meat, 150 pounds either muriate or 
sulphate of potash, and 500 pounds of acid phosphate, 
or 400 pounds of dissolved bone black. Most high- 
grade fertilizers for potatoes contain sulphate of am¬ 
monia. This is slightly less soluble than nitrate of 
soda. The theory is that the young plant first makes 
use of the soluble nitrate, then of the sulphate of 
ammonia, and later of the organic nitrogen in bone, 
meat or other forms. 
in: 
Pot¬ 
ash. 
1,000 
600 
1,000 
240 
Phos 
acid 
320 
240 
200 
400 
FIGURING A FERTILIZER VALUE. 
1 have been studying the fertilizer subject, till I think 
I understand pretty well the composition of fertilizers, 
but have been unable to find some things I would like to 
know. What price per pound should be paid for the three 
principal ingredients, namely, potash, phosphoric acid, and 
nitrogen? Then by studying any guaranteed analysis and 
making allowances for mixing and a reasonable profit, we 
might be able to determine somewhat near what the fer¬ 
tilizer should cost. b. v. E. 
Sandy Lake, Pa. 
Ans. —The best thing you can do is to obtain the 
bulletin on fertilizers issued by your experiment sta¬ 
tion. Send to Prof. H. P. Armsby, State College, Center 
Co. This tells you how to figure the value of a fer¬ 
tilizer. In last year’s bulletin the trade values were 
given as follows: 
FERTILIZER VALUES. 
Cents per 
pound. 
Nitrogen, in ammonia salts. 
in nitrates . 
in dry and fine ground fish, meat and blood 
and in mixed fertilizers. 
in cotton-seed meal and castor pomace. 
in fine bone and tankage. 
in coarse bone and tankage. 
Phosphoric acid, soluble in water, in bone fertilizers.. 
soluble in water, in rock fertilizers., 
soluble in ammonium citrate, in 
bone fertilizers . 
soluble in ammonium citrate, In rock 
fertilizers . 
Insoluble in ammonium citrate, in 
bone fertilizers . 
Insoluble In ammonium citrate, in 
rock fertilizers . 
Phosphoric acid in fine bone, tankage and fish. 
Phosphoric acid in coarse bone and tankage. 
Phosphoric acid in cotton-seed meal, castor pomace 
and wood ashes. 
Potash in high grade sulphate and in forms free from 
muriate (or chlorid). 
as muriate . 
15 
13 % 
14 
14 
10 
8 % 
5 
3 
4% 
2 % 
2 
1 % 
3% 
2 
4% 
5 
4 % 
Now be sure that you realize what that means. It 
is as much a commercial statement as are the market 
prices of grain or beef. You might go to a boarding 
house and pay 25 cents for a dinner, and then be in¬ 
terested to know what that dinner really cost. Sup¬ 
pose you had roast pork, potatoes, apple sauce, bread 
and butter, baked beans, a piece of mince pie and a 
cup of coffee. You would figure as nearly as possible 
the weight of those different things, and then get a 
fair average statement of what they cost. Then you 
could figure somewhere near the cost of the dinner. 
It would not be fair unless you added something for 
rent, fuel, wear and tear and service. 
Now it is much the same way when a man offers 
you a fertilizer. You want to find what is in it, and 
then get an idea of what it is worth—that is, what it 
cost the maker! You take the guaranteed analysis, 
and figure how many pounds of nitrogen, potash and 
phosphoric acid there are in one ton. Suppose the 
guarantee is two to three per cent nitrogen. You take 
ECONOMICAL DEVICE FOR SAP BOILING. Fig. 35. 
the lowest figures every time, because that is all that 
is actually guaranteed. If “ammonia” is printed on 
the bag or tag, don’t multiply the per cent by 2,000, 
because ammonia is not all nitrogen—only 13-17, 
or a little over 13 ounces to the pound. Find the 
amount of potash and the phosphoric acid in the same 
way. The phosphoric acid is divided into three 
classes. Part of it will dissolve in water, another 
part will dissolve in “ammonia citrate” or weak vine¬ 
gar (and is called “reverted”), and a third part is in¬ 
soluble. Suppose a fertilizer statement read like this: 
Per Cent. 
Ammonia ..2% to 3% 
Potash .5 to 6 
Phosphoric acid, total. 8 to 9 
“ “ water soluble .4 to 5 
“ “ reverted .2 to 3 
“ “ Insoluble .2 to 3 
The 2 y 2 per cent of ammonia is equal to two per 
cent of nitrogen. The two soluble forms of phos¬ 
phoric acid are valued at the same figure. If the 
guarantee stated that the potash was from sulphate 
it would be worth five cents a pound—if not, 4 y 2 
cents. We would figure as follows: 
40 pounds of nitrogen at 14 cents. $5.60 
100 pounds of potash at 4% cents. 4.50 
120 pounds soluble p. acid at 4% cents. 5.40 
40 pounds insoluble p. acid at 2 cents.80 
Total .$16.30 
That means the price you would pay if you could 
buy the chemicals at average wholesale prices in New 
York. The manufacturer bought cheaper than this, 
because he bought in large quantities. They would 
probably cost you considerably more if you bought in 
small lots, and you would have to pay freight and 
bagging expenses also. The Pennsylvania Station 
calls $1 a ton for each bagging and mixing, and $2 
a ton for freight, fair charges. We should add, there¬ 
fore, $4 to the above wholesale value. With a 20- 
per-cent commission tacked on for the agent, you 
have all that the fertilizer ought to bring. The Penn¬ 
sylvania method of valuing a fertilizer is slightly 
different from that in New Jersey and New England. 
Of course you will understand that these figures have 
nothing to do with the agricultural values of the fer¬ 
tilizer—or what it will produce! They represent only 
the market prices—much the same as those of the 
meat, potatoes and bread which made the dinner. It 
is true that some manufacturers claim that such a 
system of valuation is not fair unless the buyer also 
takes into consideration the forms in which the nitro¬ 
gen, potash, etc., are supplied. Two mixtures may 
analyze about the same, and yet one would be worth 
over $5 a ton more than the other, because the nitro¬ 
gen is in three different forms, while the other had it 
all in one form. That is one reason why the farmer 
should always deal with firms of long-standing repu¬ 
tation. Such people cannot afford to sell bogus goods, 
while the cheap-john dealers can, and often will. 
ALL SORTS AND CONDITIONS. 
A SAP BOILER.—The device illustrated at Fig. 
35 consists of coils of one-inch pipe, bent or cut and 
connected with L’s to set top of the arch under the 
sap pan, as shown. Dotted lines A A A A show where 
it may be bent, B union to connect with feeder, C 
throttle to regulate feed, D delivery pipe; can be 
turned down, as shown by dotted lines, to allow the 
pan to be drawn off. I find this device a great saving 
of fuel. The sap running the whole length of pipe, 
comes out boiling hot, frothing and sputtering like a 
scolding woman, but do not be alarmed at the noise 
it makes, for it will do no harm if you keep suffi¬ 
cient sap running in, so it will not all evaporate in the 
pipe, and consequently burn. Try it, and you will be 
more than pleased. a. a. a. 
Wellsville, N. Y. 
SWEEP FOR LOADING ICE.—As I was passing a 
pond where several men were cutting ice, I noticed a 
device in use for loading that I thought was a very 
clever invention. It may be an old, well-known de¬ 
vice, but it was certainly new to me, and thinking 
that it might be of service to readers of The R. N.-Y., 
I send a description of it. The one I saw was a rough, 
homemade affair, such as any farmer could make in 
a few hours. The standard or post was about six 
feet tall; the sweep about 18 feet long, hung on a 
swivel about five feet from the butt end. The post 
was braced on cross pieces at the base to hold it from 
toppling over, and there was a knotted rope on the 
handle end of the sweep, to allow the butt end, to 
which the ice tongs were tied, to dip into water and 
clutch the cake of ice, then by pulling down on the 
rope until the sweep could be grasped in the hand, the 
cake of ice could be swung over into the sled or 
wagon very easily. One man seemed to handle the 
lever with ease, and it certainly looked like a valu¬ 
able help, not only in loading ice, but in handling any 
heavy objects that could be clutched by tongs or 
chain. See Fig. 36. c. w. scarff. 
Vermont. 
“BEE, GRAPE AND FACT.”—When I read the 
above in The R. N.-Y. of January 20, I expected to 
find that some close observer had actually caught 
bees in the act of puncturing grapes, but don’t find 
even a “fine theory,” let alone a fact. The fact that 
bees eat through oilcloth (a common occurrence with 
beekeepers), has but little to do with their biting 
through “the thin skin of a ripe grape.” The "strong 
oilcloth” presented to the bees a flat surface, which 
enabled them to remove the fibers that compose the 
cloth piecemeal, laying bare the film of oil, which 
isn’t as thick as a ripe grape skin, rougher, and with 
a flat surface. By the time the cloth is removed, the 
oil coat would be liable to have pin-holes through it, 
affording the bees a starting place. Going through 
the cloth is easy. The fiber man makes cloth coarse 
and flimsy compared with the material Nature uses 
for the grape-skin. Now if a bee could get a whole 
grape between his “biters” he could surely partake of 
the sweets therein, in the same way a man could bite 
through “a whole large pumpkin.” As the bee can’t 
do this, with the tools Nature gave him for making 
the waxen cells of his honey-comb, he patiently waits 
for some one else to give him a start, or more gen¬ 
erally for the neglectful vineyardist or farmer, who 
lets his grapes burst. I hope some scientific observers 
will settle this old subject for good. j. q. s . 
Missouri. 
AMERICAN TEA.—Not long ago we had an ac¬ 
count of the American tea grown by Dr. Chas. U. 
Shepard, of Summerville, S. C. The United States 
Agricultural Department has issued a finely illus¬ 
trated bulletin describing the culture and care which 
this tea receives. Dr. Shepard himself writes us, giv¬ 
ing the yield of tea in nis garden as follows: 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
. 99 pounds of dry tea 
. 107 *. 
. 453 
. 807 
.1,077 
.1,506 
.2,969 
.3,599 
It will be seen that the business is really develop¬ 
ing rapidly. When we think of nearly two tons of 
dry tea produced in one year we can see that the busi¬ 
ness is assuming fair proportions. Dr. Shepard’s tea 
gardens were not all started at the same time. He 
says that gradually the productiveness of the older 
gardens has been brought up to about 150 pounds per 
acre, with a few producing double or more of that 
yield. Conditions cut down this year’s production, 
but especially the finer picking. Dr. Shepard sent us 
a sample of this American tea, which was tested by a 
number of parties. It was voted strong, with a auite 
unusual flavor. Those who have tasted the teas from 
Ceylon, say that this American tea resembles that 
closely. 1 he fact is that most Americans of middle 
class seldom know what real tea is. Investigations 
made by the Government chemist show that tea is 
quite generally adulterated with a variety of leaves 
and herbs. It is to be hoped that Dr. Shepard’s ex¬ 
periment will lead to something of a new industry in 
the South. It would seem as though he had settled 
definitely the possibilities of the tea plant on this side 
of the water. 
_'4 
