NORTH-CAROLINA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



in a mode which should free them from offensive odor, they 

 would be equally valuable for a manure. All the large es 

 tablishments upon the extended coast of this State and upon 

 its bays and rivers, would furnish as much fertilizing matter 

 as is now imported into the State in guano the cost of which 

 is paid to foreign merchants. 



At the present time, the inducements for the preservation 

 of the offal of fish, and the taking of those fish which ar- 

 not used as food are very great, in consequence of the di 

 minished cost of transportation by railroad and the increased 

 demand in the interior for fertilizers. The prepared can- 

 cerine for market, and which is mixed with charcoal and 

 plaster for the purpose of removing its unpleasant, odor, is 

 composed of:* 



Ammonia, 25.57 



Organic matter, 2i^o 



Phosphate of lime, 5. HO 



Sulphate of lime 10.32 



Silex 1.20 



Water, 26.10 



98.32 Booth. 



The king crab is used without preparation in New Jersey 

 by the farmers of Cape May, though many are in the habit 

 of composting them with earth. It is thus prepared as a ma 

 nure for wheat, and it is stated by Prof. Cook, with the hap 

 piest effects; the poorest soils on being dressed with from two 

 to four thousand produce from twenty to twenty-five bushels 

 to the acre, and thirty bushels is not an uncommon crop. As 

 this kind of manure contains but little inorganic matter, an 

 improvement of it may be effected by the addition of ashes 

 or lime to the compost or dirt heap. Such an addition would 

 fit it for corn, clover or grass. 



It is very possible the king crab, and fish only fit for ma 

 nures, are not to be obtained in sufficient quantities upon the 

 coast of North Carolina, to give the business an importance 



* Second Annual Report of the CJeol. Survey of the State of New Jersey, p. yy. 

 10 



