356 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



Chilson, Rev. Dr. Gardiner, Mr. Pardee, Van Houten, of Paterson, Jer- 

 sey, Moffat, Atwater, of Springfield, Wriglit, Jr. — S more ladies — 45 mem- 

 bers in all. 



William Lawton, of New Pvoehelle, in the chair; Henry Meigs, Secre- 

 tary. 



The Secretary read the following very interesting paper from Professor 

 James J. Mapes, being proof of the important truth so long taught by the 

 Professor, who is the entirely original discoverer of it — the high value in 

 agricultural science of the '' progression of primaries,'''' viz : 



MINEPvAL PHOSPHATES AS COMPARED WITH THE PHOS- 

 PHATES OF BONE, BLOOD, ETC. 



Until within a few months we have stood alone in advocating " the pro- 

 gression of primaries in organic life,''' and now we are only sustained by 

 others in the extent, that the French Academy of Science after a series of 

 experiment has declared, what we have so often assei^ted, that phosphates 

 from the rocks, or those of volcanic origin, have no value as fertilizers. 

 Since the increase in the consumption of phosphate of lime, thousands of 

 tons of phosphates of the kinds we have named, have been introduced into the 

 United States, and have been manufactured into supposed superpho.^phates 

 of iime, manipulated guanos, etc., and strange to say, these mixtures have 

 received the endorsement of many chemists. Suppose, as an instance, that 

 that we should grind together the phosphatic rock, of Estremadura, or 

 that of Dover, New Jersey, or of Crown Point, Lake Champlain, or the 

 volcanic phosphates covering some of the small islands of the Carribbean 

 Sea, and elswhere, and brought here under the name of guano, phosphatic 

 guano, etc., and mix this powder with eight or ten per cent of sulphate 

 of ammonia, or treat the ground phosphatic rock or phosphatic guano 

 (so called) with sulphuric acid, and then send such mixtures to the inspec- 

 tors at Baltimore for analysis, what would be their report as to its value ? 

 Why, they would pronounce it to contain 80 per cent of soluble and inso- 

 luble phosphate of lime, and a large percentage of ammonia. They could 

 not do otherwise under the present erroneous doctrines, than to suppose it 

 to be more valuable than any other mixture containing less phosphate and 

 ammonia. Send at the same time another specimen, composed of 100 lbs. 

 of calcined bones, treated with 56 lbs. of sulphuric acid and mixed 

 with 36 lbs. of Peruvian guano and 20 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia, to 

 which is added 212 lbs. of dried blcod, what will they say of this latter 

 mixture ? Why, on the present doctrine, that "fertilizers owe their value 

 to their phosphate of lime and ammonia," without taking into account 

 the source of either, they cannot but pronounce the first worth $70 per ton, 

 and the latter less than half that sum, and still in fact 100 lbs. of the lat- 

 ter will produce more plant-growth than will any known quantity of the 

 former. 



Phosphates have no value for agricultural purposes, unless taken from 

 organic life, like the blood aud bones of animals. The phosphates from 



