110 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



in moat soils a natural provision against this ; there waa gene- 

 rated in the soil lime, or oxide of iron, or alumina, or some 

 other constituent, which neutralised any such eflfect. Even 

 oil of vitriol was soon dispersed aud neutralised by these con- 

 stituents. When applied to laud, therefore, the superphosphate 

 became insoluble. Heuce it did not enter into the composition 

 of the plant as applied. But they would be inclined to ask 

 what was the value of the manure if it did not enter into the 

 composition of the plant immediately on its application ? To 

 this he would reply that the great value of superphosphate 

 was owing to its sub-division, for in its finely divided condi- 

 tion it possessed properties diffeiiug very materially from 

 ordinary insoluble phosphate of lime. The lecturer took a 

 solution of bone dissolved in acid, to which he added am- 

 monia. The result was, that the whole of the phosphate was 

 rendered soluble, the solution appearing to be converted into a 

 thick glutinous mass. In this finely-divided state, it was easily 

 taken up by the plant. Thin he illustrated by adding to the 

 precipitated phosphate some strong vinegar (acetic acid), when 

 the whole was instantly dissolved, although this comparatively 

 weak acid would scarcely have had any action on bone-dust, if 

 applied in the first instance ; thus showing that by resorting 

 to this mode they obtained the advantage of more energetic 

 action. Pounded or ground bones could never be divided into 

 such fine particles, or spread so squally or evenly over the soil, 

 as could be accomplished when dissolved in the manner he had 

 described ; and their bulk greatly increased, for the one was 

 mechanical action and the other was chemical. When bouea 

 were used first it was usual to break them into one-itich 

 pieces ; when they became dearer they were reduced to one- 

 half the size, for the farmer discovered that when more 

 uniformly spread half the quantity was just as good. And so 

 in the application of artificial manures — it waa everything to 

 have it, not here and there, but well distributed, so that the 

 roots of the p'ant could reach it, and take up the iugredienta 

 congenial to its growth. Some persons contended that it was 

 an advantage to have a portion of the phosphate insoluble, in 

 order that it may remain after the rain had washed away the 

 soluble portion, to maintain the after-growth of the plant. 

 This WES all moonshine and theory, and never could have been 

 founded on practice or correct principles. It was certainly a 

 moat convenient doctrine for artificial manure manufacturers to 

 say that it was as well, and better, to have a portion inso- 

 luble, because the more soluble the phosphate was tlie more 

 expensive it was. The conclusion, therefore, to which he would 

 ead them, was this : In buying superphosphate, let them as- 

 certain that they had a large proportion of soluble phosphates. 

 There was no reason why the farmer should go to the expense 

 of an analysis ; let the dealer supply one ; it was his business 

 to show what he had to sell. If a dealer had an objection, and 

 said, " My manure is as good as anybody else's, but I cannot 

 tell you exactly how much soluble phosphate there is in it," 

 they may be sure that in nine cases out of ten he had not a very 

 good article to show. In the absence of an analysis, the dealer 

 should be required to give a guarantee that it contained so 

 much of soluble phosphate ; for upon this the value of the 

 manure chiefly depends, and not only upon the amount of its 

 various constituents ; analjzation, therefore, was not always a 

 suflicient test of the full value of a manure, although of course 

 the material must be present to have a really efficacious ma- 

 nure. He was most anxious to point out how desirable it was 

 that the farmer should not be content to buy his superphos- 

 phate, relying entirely upon the respectability of the dealer. 

 Frequently the dealer may be a very honest man, and yet may 

 not know himself what he is selling ; the manufacturer him- 

 self may be a perfectly trustworthy man, but he may have some 

 very erroneous notions as to the relative value of soluble and in- 

 soluble phosphate ; and such ideas may not enable him to 

 produce so cheaply an effective manure as another manufac- 

 turer. The farmer is not to pay for the character of the dealer 

 or the manufacturer, but for the character of the manure 

 (Hear, hear). The cheaper he could get it the better, but by all 

 means secure a guarantee. These few practical hints he hoped 

 would be of advantage to them in purchasing artificial manure. 

 It was only by these means they could cheek the nefarious 

 practices which now and then are attempted upon the farmer. 

 The adulteration of guano had been practised last year to a far 

 greater extent than he had ever known it before— as many as 

 three-fourths of the samples he had received were adulterated ; 

 on the other hand, superphosphates appeared to be getting 

 more valuable, and this he attributed to the general demand 



which was now made for guarantees. After thanking them 

 for their attention, the learned professor resumed his seat 

 loudly cheered. 



The Chairman said he was sure all felt equally with 

 himself much indebted to the learned gentleman for his 

 able and lucid address. lie had never heard a plainer 

 elucidation of the principles which rendered artificial ma- 

 nures of importance to soils. There had been lately dis- 

 covered, as of course the Professor was aware, some large 

 deposits of guano at Kooria Mooria, in the Eastern Seas ; 

 and it appeared that there vias now upon the seas some- 

 thing like 100,000 tons of this guano. From the analysis, 

 it appeared to be equal in ammonia to the Peruvian, and, 

 like some of the other guano=, to have a larger proportion 

 of phosphates. They would all readily agree that it was to 

 the root-crops they must chiefly look ; and not only how 

 best to prepare the land for the present crop, but how to 

 get it into good condition for the subsequent produce. He 

 did not gather from the lecture whether ammonia was so 

 volatile as to be less available for subsequent crops — whe- 

 ther it was all absorbed by the cereal crop ; aud this was a 

 very important question for the farmer. Peruvian guano, 

 at its present price, was almost a forbidden fruit to the 

 farmer ; and it was certainly worth inquiring, whether the 

 ammonia, which made it valuable, benefited the land be- 

 j'ond one crop. It was most important that they should 

 know that this expensive manure was not adapted to root- 

 crops ; for, if they could buy a better article for little more 

 than half the monej', why should they not do so ? It would 

 be a great advantage if farmers could be got to adopt some 

 rule ; but of all men on earth to get to stick to a point, 

 farmers were the most difficult. If you talked to half-a- 

 dozen different men, you would find that they each enter- 

 tained a separate opinion ; and nothing would induce them 

 to take anj' trouble to ascertain the truth. It might not 

 be very agreeable to hear this; but it was quite true. The 

 result of that day's market, when the farmer was offered 

 Cs. Gd. for his wheat, was not very agreeable : it was not 

 calculated to make him very happ}', seeing at how much 

 trouble and expense he had been to rear it. Their duty 

 clearly was to be as saving as possible — to ascertain which 

 was the best manure, and to buy that, and not confide 

 altogether to the character of the dealer. Nitrate of soda 

 was some time ago highly recommended as a manure for 

 cereal crops ; and, as he understood tliere was a large 

 supply on the coast of Peru, he could not understand how 

 it was that it was not exported in larger quantities than at 

 present. Another subject of some importance to the 

 farmer was top-dressing. He should like to know, from 

 some of the practical farmers present, whether anj' prac- 

 tical benefit arose to the crop from top-dressing. A dressing 

 of nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia made the crops 

 look splendidly green ; but did any real good accrue ! 



Mr. W. Thursfield said he had found great advantage 

 from top-dressing. 



The Chairman said, it was probably from want of accurate 

 observation, but be perceived no practical benefit to the crop 

 on that part of the field which he had top-dressed ; it waa 

 much greener, but at harvest he saw no difference. It was 

 very true that they could not lay down any general principles ; 

 every person ought to be able by observation to know what 

 was best suited for his own land, for there was scarcely a farm 

 of any extent which did not consist of several kinds of land. 

 Hence the importance of knowing suflScient of general princi- 

 ples to be able to apply one's common sense to particular 

 cases. The value of an institution like that at Cirencester, 

 where the students were made acquainted with the practical 

 application of science, was not sufficiently known and could 

 not be over-estimated. It would be an excellent thing if 

 farmers could send their sons there for a short time, and the 

 knowledge that he would acquire would certainly make him 

 a better farmer. What could be more important than for the 

 farmer to know that coprolite in an undissolved state was 

 useless on the land ? Ii; was, however, with some surprise 

 that he heard that one cwt. of guano was equal to a ton of 

 farmyard manure. To put upon land 3 or 4 cwt. of guano 

 was a good dressing — three or four tons of manure would do 

 nothing at all. 



Mr. W. Thursfield asked what kind of bones were 

 best — those which were calcined, or those in which the glue 

 was left. 



