382 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



It appears that superphosphates and ammoniated super- 

 phosphates constitute by far the larger part of our home- 

 made fertilizers. Four fifths of the phosphoric acid in the 

 superphosphates comes from South Carolina and Navassa 

 Island phosphates. In the majority of cases the nitrogen is 

 added in the form of some nitrogenous animal matter. Am- 

 monia salts are very seldom, and soda or potash saltpetre 

 more often used for this purpose. Crude sulphate of ammo- 

 nia, Chili saltpetre (nitrate of soda), and German potash salts 

 are also coming rapidly into favor. The higher grades of 

 the German potash salts are much to be preferred to the 

 lower, which contain large quantities of material of little 

 fertilizing value ; while the cost of freight in importation is 

 as great as for the purer potash salts. 



NEW GUANO DEPOSITS IN PERU. 



Of all the states of South America, Peru appears to be most 

 favored in regard to her financial condition, possessing as she 

 does immense beds of guano, wholly controlled by the gov- 

 ernment, which furnish an ample revenue for all purposes. 

 We chronicled not long since the discovery of new beds of 

 this important manure, and we now learn that still later dis- 

 coveries have been made of guano a few miles south of Iqui- 

 que, which contain at least 20,000,000 tons of the fertilizer. 

 Still other beds have also been found in the Bay of Independ- 

 ence, a few miles south of Pisco, the two together probably 

 adding 25,000,000 tons of this substance to the treasury of 

 Peru. 



The quality of the new guano is said by Professor Raimoni 

 to be excellent, although not containing quite as much am- 

 monia as that formerly obtained from the Chincha Islands. 

 Panama Star and Herald, March 24, 1815. 



CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF FERTILIZERS. 



In the chemical examination of commercial fertilizers va- 

 riations have often been found between the analyses of dif- 

 ferent samples of the same article. These differences may be 

 due either to differences in the analytical methods employed 

 or in the actual composition of the substances analyzed. To 

 obviate the former source of errOr, the German experiment 

 stations have given considerable attention to devising and 



