223 



One hundred parts ot mineral matter contain 



Silica 6.937 



Lime ;5.729 



Magnesia 4.75(5 



Peroxide of iron 1. 988 



Phosphoric acid 45. 489 



Potassa 29.251 



Soda 7.834 



99. 984 



Nitrogen in organic matter. 1. 1203 



We find that the qiiantity of ash amounts to 2.13 per cent./making 

 the total amount of i^hosphoric acid about 0.97 per cent., andjpotassa 

 about 0.62 per cent. Comparing these figures with those found in the 

 anal3'ses published by Wolff,* we find that the average amount of ash 

 found in corn is about 1.40 per cent., making the total amount of phos- 

 phoric acid in the grain about 0.66 per cent., and potassa 0.39 per cent. 

 This shows that in the hominy-offal there is an increase of but about 

 one-third in the amounts of these constituents, and when we calculate 

 the value of the material according to the standard for commercial fer- 

 tilizers,- and admitting that the phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen 

 are all available as plant-food, it would be $3.70 per ton of two thousand 

 pounds. Now, when it is so easy to procure fertilizing materials in a 

 much more concentrated condition, at the same rates, it is quite evident 

 that it would not be profitable to make use of the material in question 

 as a fertilizer. But if we consider its value as feeding material, upon 

 comparing the above analysis with that of the analysis of white corn 

 grown upon the eastern shore of Maryland, t we see that the material 

 difference is not very great. The total amount of cellulose and min- 

 eral matter, 8.11 per cent, in the former and 2.77 per cent, in the latter, 

 would not make a difference of more than two or three dollars per ton 

 in their value, even if we admit that these constituents are valueless 

 for this purpose. So that when the price of corn-meal averages from 

 $35 to $40 per ton, it is plain that it would be much more practical and 

 economical to make use of the hominy-offal as feedmg-material for cat- 

 tle than for the purpose indicated by our correspondent. 



Scientific Notes. — Passage of matter in plants. — In a late number 

 of " Die landicirtschaftUche Versuchs-Stationen^^^ Dr. L. Eissmiiller has 

 I)ublished the results of some experiments upon the above subject, 

 in the course of which he made analyses of the leaves of the beech at 

 different stages of development. He finds that the proteine bodies and 

 hydrocarbons, as well as the i)hosphoric acid and potassa, increase until 

 the month of July, when they reach a maximum, and that after this 

 time they steadily decrease until the close of the season. He has been 

 led to the conclusion, from the results of all his investigations, that 

 there is a relation between the potash and the formation of hydrocar- 

 bons, as well as between the phosphoric acid and protein bodies. These 

 mineral constituents not only vary with the organic constituents during 

 the entire period of growth of the leaves, but also pass with them into 

 other organs of the plants which continue over to succeeding years, in- 

 creasing them or serving as a reserve for nourishment for the next pe- 

 riod of growth. He considers that it does not follow that the lime and 

 silica in anyway affect the production of cellulose, but that they merely 



* Ashcen-Analysen page 36. t Monthly Eeport, April, 1873, p. 169. 



4a 



