48 (J REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



carbon or beuzine — yet I cannot vouch for the correctness of that state- 

 ment; to render but slightly the fish mass and to abstract the remaiudar 

 of the fat subsequently with some suitable liquid, benzine, &c., would 

 be a step in the right direction. 1 found 18 per cent, of fat in dried fish- 

 scraps; a good Norwegian fish-guano contains frequently but from 2,5 

 to 3 per cent, of fat, and is ground to a fine i)owder. The entire re- 

 moval of the fat favors the drying of the fish mass and increases its per- 

 centage of nitrogen and j)hosphoric acid, which in turn raises the com- 

 mercial value of the resulting material. The feeding of the fish-guano 

 as a rich article of food to our douiesticated herbivorous animals, as 

 sheep, &c., has engaged of later years considerable attention on the part 

 of scientific investigators as a more economical mode of using fish for 

 fertilizing purposes. The German experiment stations at Proskau and 

 at Hohenheim have published of late interesting confirmatory results. 

 I take the liberty to inclose a page of printed matter, which contains a 

 fair statement of present values of fertilizing substances ; it is taken out 

 of my fourtli annual report on " commercial fertilizers," and may prove 

 of interest to you. Offering my services most cheerfully in case my 

 opinion on any particular point should be desirable, I remain 



Very respectfully, yours, 



C. A. GOESSMANN. 

 Prof. G. Brown Goode, 



Washington, D. C. 



Amherst, Mass., November 24, 1877. 

 Dear Sir : I sent to day by mail such of my reports as are still on 

 hand. I regret that I have no copy of my third report, which contains 

 the most detailed discussion on fish and fish fertilizers. I presume by 

 writing to Hon. Charles L. Flint, secretary of the Massachusetts State 

 Board of Agriculture, Boston, for his annual report of 1875 to 187G, 

 which contains my third report, you may be able to secure a copy. A 

 carefully dried and finely ground fish is considered to be one of our best 

 substitutes for the Peruvian guano, which is formed from the excretions of 

 fish-eating animals, as sea-birds, &c. To secure a similar speedy influ- 

 ence on the growth of plants, it is customary to compost fish with soil 

 in the usual manner a month or two previous to the designed use. The 

 flesh of fish coming from the rendering vats is in an excellent coudiuiou 

 ior rapid disintegration ; the same may be said regarding the fish-bones. 

 An addition of sulphuric acid to fresh fish-refuse from the oil-press exerts 

 a beneficial influence on the gradual disintegration of the organic mat- 

 ter and the bones, securing at the same time the entire amount of nitro- 

 gen by rendering the ammonia formed non-volatile. Larger quantities 

 of sulphuric acid ])roduce an increased amount of soluble phosphoric 

 acid. A good fish-guano belongs to our richest nitrogenous materials 

 for manuring purposes. An addition of soluble phosphates in many in- 



