ANALYSIS

Per Cent
Nitrogen 0.82 to 1.00
Equal to ammonia 1.00 to 2.00
Soluble phosphoric acid 6.00 to 7.00
Reverted 2.00 to 3.00
Available 8.00 to 10.00
Insoluble 1.00 to 2.00
Total 9.00 to 12.00
Potash (actual) 1.00 to 2.00
Equal to sulphate of potash 2.00 to 3.00

As the row of larger figures is not guaranteed percentages, it has no
value.

The buyer is not concerned regarding the amount of ammonia to which the
nitrogen is equal, and so the second line is a needless repetition.

The fifth line gives the sum of the third and fourth, the available
being the total of the soluble and reverted. Therefore the third and
fourth lines may be ignored.

The sixth line gives the percentage of unavailable phosphoric acid in
the rock, and should be ignored by the purchaser who wants available
plant-food.

The seventh gives the sum of the available and insoluble, and should be
ignored.

The ninth is a restatement of the eighth line.

There then remains the following guaranty:

Per Cent
Nitrogen 0.82
Available phosphoric acid 8.00
Potash 1.00

This is a low-grade fertilizer whose cheap character becomes apparent
when the unnecessary statements and restatements are erased. A ton of
it contains only 16 pounds of nitrogen, 160 pounds of phosphoric acid,
and 20 pounds of potash.

Valuation of Fertilizers.--The manufacturer of a mixed fertilizer must
make use of the unmixed materials he finds upon the market. The prices
of the various plant constituents in the different unmixed materials
can be determined by averaging quotations in leading markets for a
given length of time. The fair retail price is obtained by adding about
20 per cent to the wholesale cash price. The retail cash price per
pound of the plant constituents in leading markets is thus determined
for their various forms and carriers. A pound of nitrogen in dried
blood may have its valuation fixed at a figure 50 per cent higher than
that of a pound of nitrogen in nitrate of soda simply because the dried
blood sells at a price per ton that makes that difference. It is true
commercial value that is sought, and that may be very different from
agricultur