1008. 
THE RURA.lv NEW-YORKER 
313 
A BAG OF FERTILIZER. 
Another Analysis Worked Out. 
The articles in your paper on “A Bag of 
Fertilizer,” while helpful, were not quite 
clear in some points. Can I save any¬ 
thing by buying the materials separately, 
and mixing, over this mixture which sells 
for $26 here? 
Per cent. 
Ammonia actual and potential... 
Phosphoric acid available. 
Bone phosphate of lime. 
Potash sulphate . 
Potash, K20 . 
3 to 4 
8 to 10 
20 to 24 
0 to 8 
3 to 4 
What is this last? How much of 
each would I have to buy? I see they 
reckon 313 pounds of nitrogen equal 
15.5 per cent to the ton. Is the 
balance of the ton of any value? I don’t 
want to drill the mixture. I can get cot¬ 
ton-seed meal at $30 per ton. I low much 
nitrogen o” ammonia is in it? What 
would it cost per pound in that form? 
Should there not be some of it in a potato 
or grass fertilizer? What is the difference 
between nitrogen and ammonia? j. l. s. 
Crozet, Va. 
We waited for just such an excellent 
question as this in order to make the 
articles clear by giving readers just what 
they want. All that you are guaran¬ 
teed in that fertilizer is 60 pounds of 
ammonia, 160 pounds available phos¬ 
phoric acid and 60 pounds of potash. 
“Ammonia” i^ a combination of nitro¬ 
gen and another gas known as hydrogen. 
Everyone knows the peculiar smell of 
ammonia. This hydrogen has no value 
as a fertilizer—it simply holds the 
nitrogen in its place. Every pound of 
ammonia is 14/17 or 82.3 per cent nitro¬ 
gen, the remainder being hydrogen. 
Therefore in this fertilizer with its 60 
should contain about 140 pounds nitro¬ 
gen, 40 of potash and 60 of phosphoric 
acid to the ton. Thus you will see by 
figuring that 800 pounds of cotton-seed 
meal, 1,000 pounds of acid phosphate 
and 150 pounds muriate of potash will 
give you more plant food than is guar¬ 
anteed in the mixture. 
Sprouted Seed Potatoes. 
S. F. TF., Miamisburp, Ohio .—Should seed 
potatoes that have been sprouted in the 
house be planted whole, or cut the same as 
another potato? 
Ans. —With us it would depend upon 
the way they have started sprouts. 
Many smaller tubers started in this, way 
make a single sprout. We would plant 
such whole. Where two or more strong 
sprouts on large potatoes are made we 
would cut so as to give each sprout a 
good-sized piece of the seed. 
Wheat Straw for Potatoes. 
T. A. R., Fisher's Ferry, Fa .— Would 
you recommend wheat straw from a stack 
on a clover sod mowed last year, for a 
potato patch to he planted this season? 
Would you recommend plowing in the pota¬ 
toes or plowing the ground and furrowing 
to be planted as corn? This is on a red 
shell gravel soil. 
Ans.— As we understand your ques 
tion you speak of spreading the straw 
on the clover sod and plowing all under 
for potatoes without manure or fer¬ 
tilizers. We should not do it, but would 
put the straw on other land which is 
not now in sod. The clover sod ought 
to provide vegetable matter enough. We 
have bare land which needs the straw. 
pounds of ammonia there are a little 
less than 50 pounds of nitrogen. The 
“bone phosphate of lime” is a term 
used by the manufacturer to show how 
much phosphoric acid there would be 
if it were all united with lime (see page 
99). Pay no attention to that state¬ 
ment but only figure on how much 
available phosphoric acid they guaran¬ 
tee. “Potash sulphate” is another mis¬ 
leading term in which the manufacturer 
tries to show how much sulphate of 
potash there would be if the potash were 
in the form of a sulphate; that is com¬ 
bined with sulphur. All you need care 
for is the actual amount of potash they 
guarantee—which, in this case is 60 
pounds. The letter K is the chemical 
symbol for the metal potassium just as 
N stands for nitrogen, S for sulphur, 
O for oxygen and so on. This potas¬ 
sium cannot be used in its pure state 
but in fertilizers it comes as an oxide— 
that is. combined with oxygen. Two parts 
of potassium combined with one part 
of oxygen make an oxide known as 
potash and that is what the K20 means. 
There is much nonsense about some of 
those analyses. It seems as if they were 
made up to confuse farmers. Always 
remember that “ammonia” is only 14/17 
nitrogen and that in figuring the value 
of nitrogen you should leave 3/17 of 
the weight off. Now where can you buy 
50 pounds of nitrogen, 160 pounds of 
acid phosphate and 60 pounds of potash 
for less than $26? First of all we should 
get the station bulletin, hunt up the 
analysis of this fertilizer and see what 
the chemists found in it. Very likely 
they found more plant food than is 
guaranteed. The average analysis of 
nitrate of soda is 16 per cent nitrogen. 
On this basis at the prices quoted on 
page 99 your 50 pounds of nitrogen will 
cost $9. On the same basis of figures 
your 160 pounds of phosphoric acid will 
cost not far from $7 and the potash 
about $3. You should get quotations 
of your own, however, before you figure 
exactly. In addition to 320 pounds of 
nitrogen a ton of nitrate of soda con¬ 
tains over 700 pounds of oxide of 
sodium or soda. This is necessary to 
hold the nitrogen in a solid form and 
has little if any value as plant food. 
Cotton-seed meal varies somewhat in 
composition and should be bought on 
analysis. When hulls are ground with 
the meal the nitrogen is much reduced. 
An average sample of cotton-seed meal 
We would, if need be, use fertilizer with 
the sod. We have seen potatoes plowed 
in every third furrow and do well. In 
order to do it right you must have a 
very steady team and make the furrows 
straight. We have done this with cab¬ 
bage, but with potatoes we prefer to 
work the ground several times and plant 
in deep furrows or drills. 
Soldering Iron. 
T ". A. S„ Cottage Mills, Ga .— How do 
you solder iron with brass? Do you melt 
the brass? 
Ans. —Copper is regarded the best ma¬ 
terial for joining iron to iron, whether 
wrought or cast. To solder iron and 
steel the following directions are given: 
For large pieces of iron and steel, cop¬ 
per or brass is used as solder. Place 
a thin strip of copper or brass along 
the junction; bind the plate together 
with wire and cover them an inch deep 
with clay free from sand. If soldering 
iron to iron bring the plates when dry 
to a white heat and then plunge them 
into cold water; for soldering iron to 
steel, or steel to steel, cool slowly from 
the white heat. The vitrified clay is 
then broken off. For smaller articles 
prepare a solder by granulating a mix¬ 
ture of eight parts of brass with one of 
zinc. Mix the solder with borax and 
spread it over the articles to be joined. 
F. H. KING. 
Clothing 
Made 
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at the 
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Save Half 
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Get two suits for the 
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Express charges paid east of the Mississippi River. 
Allowances made on all orders West of the Mississippi. 
Write for samples and catalog. 
GLEN ROCK WOOLEN CO., 
203 Main St., Somerville, N.J. 
THE PERFECTION SPRAYER 
Sprays Ever jibing trees, potatoes, etc. Furnished 
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XAOUftBOY 
KAN DO AS MUCH 
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r/ /ic Zias a 
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r fl/L0£ MfvtlA* 
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6537 Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, Ill. 
Mend Your Own 
HARNESS 
Put the money you would 
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Gasoline 
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Fewest Parts. Uses 
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Catalogue FREE. 
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202 West Newell St., 
Syracuse, New York 
C oncrete Buildi ng Blocks 
l«rior finish. Catalogue Free. Write 
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THE HOOVER POTATO 
DIGGER 
Send for 
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John Deere Plows 
Have that smooth, light running quality 
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STICKNEY GASOLINE ENGINES 
ARE THE BEST 
The engine with an 
OJJTSIDE IGNITER 
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Wood Sawing 
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SEND FOR CATALOG 
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Gas and Gasoline Engines 
Stationary, 
and Portable 
for all purposes 
Catalogues on Request 
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331 W. Water St. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
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It doesn’t take BO seconds to slip a pair of Ilnrvey Holster 
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THE AMERICAN SEA GREEN SLATE CO. Box 10, Granville, N. Y. 
