360 PRACTICAL GAEDENING. 



imagine that these two results are of the same article ? It is 

 as if scientific men were determined that common people 

 should never understand them. One of these chemists pro- 

 duces no less than eleven different items or materials ; the 

 other sums up the qualities of guano in five. Can this be 

 right 1 that is to say, can it be right for the guidance of in- 

 experience ? One more illustration of this and we have done : 

 take the subject of cow-dung. Three analyses of this animal 

 manure by three different chemists are thus given : — 



The author of the " Muck Manual " says, the proportions of 

 organic matter, water, and salts, in lOOlbs. of cow-dung, 

 are — 



Water 83-600 



Organic matter — 



Hay 14-600 



Bile and resinous biliary matter . 1*275 



Albumen '175 



Sihca -140 



Sulphate of potash '050 



Geate of potash "070 



Muriate of soda -080 



Phosphate of lime '230 



Sulphate of lime '120 



Carbonate of lime '120 



*99^86Q 



14 



100-00 



Morin's analysis consists of — 



Water 70-00 



Vegetable fibre 24-08 



Green resin and fat acids 1 '52 



Undecomposed biliary matter . . . "60 



Peculiar extractive matter . . . . 1-60 



Albumen '40 



Bihary resin 1*80 



* This is -wrong in the addition, because the sum should be 100-46, 

 consequently there is 46 over instead of a loss of 14. However, this is 

 not material, except that it shows carelessness somewhere, but does not 

 affect our object, which is to show that hardly two chemists agree in 

 their terms, to say nothing of proportions. 



