Brand Names
Categories:
PURCHASING PLANT-FOOD
Notwithstanding all that has been done by the state to
acquaint the buying public with the composition of fertilizers, many
purchasers are guided in selection by the brand name, and that usually
is fanciful in character, no matter whether it be "Farmers' Friend" or
"Jones' Potato Fertilizer." In either case it may be far from friendly
to soil or pocket-book, and widely at variance with the needs of the
soil for which i
is purchased. The pretense of making a fertilizer
peculiarly adapted to the potato, or to wheat, or to corn would not
attract a single buyer if the public would compare the analyses of
these special crop fertilizers offered by manufacturers and note their
dissimilarity of composition. Any kind of a mixture may be given any
kind of a name. It is the composition that counts. The farmer is in the
market for nitrogen and phosphoric acid and potash, singly or combined,
for a certain soil, and all he wants is to know the number of pounds he
is getting, its availability, and its price per pound. Any added detail
not required by law is an impertinence.