New York AGricutturaAL ExprrimMEentT STATION. 283 
Cost OF ONE POUND OF PLANT-FOoOD TO CONSUMERS.— Concluded. 

Lowest. Highest. Average. 
Cents. Cents. Cents. 
Phosphoric acid in 
’ Complete fertilizers (available) .............. 3.6 116.00 6.5 
Dissolved phosphates (available) .,.......... 3.8 10 5.3 
Rear BOTE Te (COLE) < oc ov cc's ase oteide ee sect seepe SL 3.05" 3.3 
SmIUN TERE TELESEL POR LANL D5 hg oc eres tncievel es «Grades wlenazer eset’ +s 3 AL 4.2 
Phosphoric acid and potash mixtures (avail- 
BOERNE MME es aoe cid ce ctt ais fete nice oe «es waa 5.3 12.6 6.9 
SOME IEEE STTOS tC As ge: busce's eit este iy acalbse bine 00 ''% 6% 4.3 13.9 7.2 
Potash in 
MITC L EE TCYUMZCES 555 ic o/c carta caress Cb wo ess oe 3.75 12.3 6.5 
CRE Me Mn ree a ata elas oie tke’, eo std be TUM Dee Bes Aas Uke ee 5.9 
BREE PORN Ts POLE eee a cocracs eie'e +o 0d ee eal eve eh een) elec ss eaares es 
ICE NOR Po racine Cats vcs ec coe ces © akin ese ote s 5.4 17.4 9 
Potash and phosphoric acid mixtures ........ 5 11.9 6.9 

TERMS USED IN STATING RESULTS OF ANALYSIS. 
In the tables following, the terms used to express the results of 
analysis are self-explanatory for the most part. Attention is 
called, however, to ‘‘ water-soluble” phosphoric acid and nitrogen. 
While manufacturers are required to guarantee only the 
amount of available phosphoric acid (water-soluble plus reverted 
or citrate-soluble), yet it seems desirable that consumers should 
know what proportion of the available is water-soluble. The 
amounts of available phosphoric acid being equal, one would 
choose by preference a fertilizer containing the larger amount of 
water-soluble phosphoric acid. 
The amount of water-soluble phosphoric acid varied from 0.62 
to 9.78 per cent and averaged 5.72 per cent. This constituted 
nearly 62 per cent of the available phosphoric acid present. 
The water-soluble. nitrogen includes nitrogen present in the 
form of ammonia salts and nitrates together with that present in 
small amounts of soluble organic matter. The amount of water- 
soluble nitrogen varied from 0 to 3.02 per cent and averaged 
0.54 percent. This constituted 32.3 per cent of the total nitrogen 
present. It should not be inferred that water-soluble nitrogen 
is of more value than the rest. It is, of course, more readily 
available, so far as it consists of nitrates, but it must be remem- 
bered that nitrogen in this form leaches and is lost to plants more 
readily than nitrogen in other forms. 
