CHAPTER XXVI. 

 ARTIFICIAL FERTILISERS. 



THE manures described in the last chapter and in Chapter 

 XXVII are all of organic origin, that is to say, they are all 

 produced by living organisms, either plants or animals. 

 Some of the animal products were, as I have shown, unsuit- 

 able for use in a fresh state, they had to be treated in various 

 ways, which, however, did not turn them into artificial 

 fertilisers. After their treatment they retained their 

 organic character, although some of them arc at times called 

 artificial fertilisers. 



Manures, then, which are produced by living organisms, 

 are called organic manures ; and those produced by the 

 treatment of minerals, inorganic manures or artificial 

 fertilisers. These inorganic manures or artificial fertilisers 

 are not complete substitutes for animal or vegetable manure. 



I have already pointed out that artificial manures contain 

 no humus, and that so far as I know no chemist has ever 

 succeeded in compounding a mixture which is either 

 humus or a complete substitute for organic manure. 

 However complete an artificial fertiliser may be, it lacks 

 this one and all-important ingredient " humus/' hence the 

 results gained by its use without organic manures are often 

 very poor. 



There are on the market two classes of fertilisers, one 

 called a simple fertiliser, and the other called by the makers 

 " complete fertilisers." Amateurs are apt to get confused 

 with these. Simple fertilisers are simple chemical sub- 

 stances such as nitrate of soda, nitrate of potash, nitrate 

 of lime, sulphate of lime, sulphate of potash, etc. Super- 



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