

PIIOCEEDI^'GS AT GE^'EiUL MEETI^■GS. 



The chief disqualification was found to be the want of a proper guarantee for each 

 manure and feeding-stuff purchased. Without such a guarantee it is needless to say- 

 that no efiicient control can he exercised over the quality of these substances, and little 

 or nothing can be done to prevent loss from unfortunate speculations ; for to buy a 

 manure without a guarantee is to make a speculation. T Avould strongly impress upon 

 farmers the importance of obtaining a written guarantee for all the manures and 

 feeding stuffs which they purchase. Manure manufacturers and merchants of 

 standing are always willing to give a guaranteee with their wares. They buy 

 their materials in that way, and that is the way in which they prefer to sell, so that 

 however much and however deservedly a farmer may trust to his manure merchant for 

 supplying him with really good materials, he should never neglect to obtain a written 

 guarantee denoting the percentage of each valuable constituent, and thus he will not 

 only know it, but be able to refer to it at any time. Without that it is difficult to see 

 how there can be an intelligent and accurate use of manm'es and feeding stuffs. 



Besides the 221 analyses contained in the above table, there were 14 others which 

 were disqualified for the want of a proper guarantee. There are 195 analyses of 

 manures and 26 of feeding stuffs. Among the manures the most popular is dissolved 

 bones, of which there are 65 analyses^ or exactly one-third of the whole. Next comes 

 bones, of which there are 33 analyses, so that half of the manure samples analysed were 

 bones either dissolved or imdissolved. Superphosphates come next with 30 samples, 

 and next Peruvian gnano 14 samples ; then come various special manures, amounting 

 to 38 samples in the aggregate, and small numbers of other kinds of manure. 



With so many analyses before us of manures used during one season by farmers in 

 various parts of the country, and supplied by manure manufacturers and merchants of 

 all kinds, an excellent opportunity is afforded of making a general survey of the char- 

 acter of the manure supply. Accordingly, at considerable cost of time and labour, I 

 have carefully examined all the analyses, and have arranged and classified them in 

 various ways, with the \iew of eliciting some information that may be of use to farmers 

 in the purchase of manures. 



The use of artificial manures is now so general, and the money expended on their 

 purchase so enormous, that it has become a matter of \ital importance to fanners to 

 exercise great economy in their purchase. To do this, he must know what are the im- 

 portant constituents of a manure, what are the characteristics of a good manure, and 

 be able to judge from the results of analysis what is the nature of the manure, no 

 matter by what name it may be called, and to estimate approximately its value as a 

 fertiliser. In the remarks which follow, I cannot do more than refer to some of these 

 things, and must leave the still more important subject of the economical and intelli- 

 gent application of manures quite untouched. To enter fully into such matters would 

 require a course of lectures, and I purpose delivering in this hall a course of lectures 

 on the subiect of "Manures and their Application," beginning next Wednesday. In 

 the meantime, I shall confine myself strictly to some statistics of the analyses sent in 

 by the associations. 



First in the classification of manures comes bones. I am glad to see that there are 



