REPORT OF THE CHEMIST 197 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



Piling it on the sea shore and allowing it to partially dry out will certainly lessen 

 the haulage to the field, but it must be remembered that if during this process it is 

 exposed to heavy rains, much of its potash will be washed out and lost. The weather- 

 ing of sea-weed has been demonstrated to be a wasteful process. 



Sea-weed can be used for all classes of crops, but those most benefited are roots, 

 vegetables and others which produce an abundance of foliage, since it is essentially a 

 potassic and nitrogenous fertilizer. This latter fact prompts the suggestion that if 

 a complete fertilizer is required it should be supplemented by an application of super- 

 phosphate or basic slag. 



Dried, Ground Sea-weed. — Some months ago we received from a correspondent 

 a sample of dried, ground sea-weed prepared, according to statement, from ' Rock 

 Weed' (probably Fucus furcatvs), gathered on the Nova Scotian coast and dried at a 

 gentle heat. The object had been to produce from sea-weed a fertilizer sufficiently rich 

 in plant food to allow of inland transportation, and which could conveniently be 

 applied to the land. It was a coarse, dark-green powder, ahd one which might, we 

 think, be readily broadcasted or applied by the fertilizer attachment of the drill. 



ANALYSIS. 



Moisture 9-48 per cent. 



Organic matter 72-61 



Mineral matter or ash 17-91 



100-00 " 



Nitrogen 1-32 



Phosphoric acid -29 



Potash 2-26 " 



Lime 1-72 



These data are fairly in accord with those obtained from the analysis of fresh 

 Rock weed, calculated to the same moisture-content as the sample examined. We may 

 conclude, therefore, that there had been no marked losses in the plant food constitu- 

 ents during the drying of the weed, and I think we may further safely infer that the 

 operation has not impaired their availability. 



Attempts have been frequently made in Europe to prepare an easily-handled, con- 

 centrated fertilizer from sea-weed, but it would appear that so far mechanical and 

 other difficulties have been such as to prevent the manufacture of the material being 

 a profitable undertaking. 



DOG FISH SCRAP. 



Since 1905 at the request of the Department of Marine and Fisheries, we have 

 annually analysed samples of the dogfish scrap from the government reduction works 

 in the maritime provinces. Two samples from the works at Canso, N.S., received at 

 the laboratory in December, 1910, furnished the following data: — 



Analysis. 



No. 1. No. 2. 



p.c. p.c. 



Moisture 3-15 5-32 



Nitrogen 9-41 9-50 



Phosphoric acid 4-05 3-56 



Total mineral matter 11-85 11-01 



Mineral matter insoluble in acid -74 -07 



Oil 20-50 25-11 



