128 TOBACCO LEAF. 



and one-fifth per cent nitrogen. The large amount of 

 organic matter it contains gives it more value than nitro- 

 gen salts, especially for light soils. As it contains about 

 one-fourth less nitrogen than cottonseed meal, the ap- 

 plication should be correspondingly larger, or 2500 

 pounds per acre where no manure is used and 1250 

 when used with manure. When manure cannot be ob- 

 tained, castor pomace makes a fairly good substitute, 

 perhaps the best the market affords, as its organic mat- 

 ter acts similarly to that of manure. At Poquonock, 

 leaf grown on this pomace compared favorably in quan- 

 tity and quality with crops grown on other fertilizers. 



Tankage is the name applied to the residue of meat 

 entrails, fine bone, etc., that settle at the bottom of the 

 large tanks in which such refuse is steamed, or rendered, 

 for extracting fat. When the percentage of bone runs 

 large it is called cracklings. It is a dry powder varying 

 considerably in mechanical condition, the meat generally 

 being in a very finely pulverized condition, while much 

 of the bone is considerably coarser. Fertilizer manufac- 

 turers use this material quite largely, and they generally 

 make a distinction between beef and pork tankage. The 

 latter contains considerable fat, which retards decom- 

 position, and it is held in less esteem than beef tankage, 

 which is almost entirely free from fat. This distinction 

 is not understood by farmers and they are probably sup- 

 plied with the less marketable pork tankage. 



The quantity of water in tankage varies consid- 

 erably, ranging from ten to thirty per cent, and the 

 amount of bone also varies. Of course the larger the 

 percentage of water, the smaller is the percentage of 

 nitrogen ; when bone is largely present the nitrogen runs 

 low. It is generally sold on a guaranteed analysis, how- 

 ever, and the price varies according to the contents. 

 The average amount of water is twelve per cent ; nitro- 

 gen ranges from four to eight per cent, averaging about 



