REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. 



51 



Subsequent to the time of writing the above, Mr. Pue forwarded, by 

 request, to the Department a sample of bat-excrement of fair quality, 

 as is evident from the statement of analysis given below. 



Besides the sources already mentioned, we have received specimens 

 from Mr. L. A. Downs, Cave City, Ky,, and from Benton County, Arkan- 

 sas. We have made analyses of eight of the specimens received, and 

 their composition is detailed in the following table : 



The Eoman numerals at the top of the tables represent different 

 samples, as follows : 



I. Sample from Brierfield, Ala. Part of the deposit from which it was 

 taken was burned during the war, but this sample represents that por- 

 tion which remains uninjured. 



II. Sample from same deposit representing the remains of the burned 

 portion. It has the appearance of dry, sandy soil. 



III. Sample from Bandera, Tex. 



IV. Sample from San Antonio, Tex. 



V. Sample from Benton County, Arkansas. 



VI. Sample from Georgetown, Williamson County, Tex. 



VII. Sample from Cave City, Ky, 



VIII. Sample from J. A. V. Pue, Bandera, Tex. 



These are all very similar in appearance, with the exception of those 

 containing the high proportion of insoluble mineral matter, which are 

 very much like soil. Those containing high proportions of organic mat- 

 ter vary in color from light brown to dark brown, according to the per- 

 centage of moisture they contain. As stated before, their physical con- 

 dition, when air-dried, is excellent, both for handling and for application 

 to the soil, and the analyses given above represent very fairly the aver- 

 age composition of the material, which may be valued at from $15 to $86 

 -per ton, reckoning upon the basis for determination of the value for fer- 

 tilizers adopted by Dr. Ch. A. Goessmann, inspector of fertilizers for 

 the State of Massachusetts, in his report for 1876. These values com- 

 pare favorably with those of the fish-products largely manufactured in 

 New England, and even with Peruvian guano, analyses of both of which 

 may be found in the report just alluded to. 



Deposits similar to these have also been discovered in Europe, but they 

 are by no means as valuable as those of this country. Thus, accord- 

 ing to analyses by Schwarz,* the composition of a deposit near Eaab, 



* Ding. Polyt. Jour., ccxviii, 315, 



