Statement Of Analysis
Categories:
PURCHASING PLANT-FOOD
It would be well if the law refused to the
manufacturer the privilege of printing unnecessary detail in the
statement of analysis that must be placed upon the fertilizer bag. It
is added to confuse the buyer and mislead him regarding actual value.
The following statement is an example of this practice:
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.