CHAPTER I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The use of commercial fertilizers has become a necessity of 

 our age and situation. 



There are those who cavil, and say the sale of guanos will 

 ruin the country. The only answer we have to make is the 

 fact that the average planter has sense enough to know, after 

 the test of seven or eight years, that he makes annually a profit 

 by the purchase, and use of the same. 



That the annual sale of such manures increases and will in- 

 crease; that England and Belgium both use more commercial 

 fertilizers than the entire United States, though the area of 

 the two countries combined is less than one-sixtieth the area of 

 the United States. 



The abuse of commercial fertilizers is to be regretted, and is a 

 source of loss to the careless and slovenly farmer. 



Among the abuses we may reckon: 



1st. The application of a good fertilizer to improperly cleared, 

 or wet and undrained lands, or to lands destitute of vegetable 

 matter, neither of which can make a proper return, or the 

 careless and improper cultivation of any lands of any grade on 

 which such fertilizers are used. 



2nd. The purchase of spurious and worthless articles, simply 

 because they are considered cheap, and are sold on accommo- 

 dating terms. 



That class who improperly use and always abuse the sale of 

 fertilizers are always subject to imposition by designing manip- 

 ulators. They lay themselves open and fall a ready prey to the 

 designing seller. 



This pamphlet is gotten up for the use of, and addressed to 

 the planters of cotton, tobacco, and those crops raised south of 

 the Potomac, and east of the Mississippi River. If the intelli- 

 gent planter in that section will for a moment consider, he will 

 see that the Charleston Basin is his natural source of supply so 

 far as bone phosphate of lime is concerned, nor can he see any 

 sensible reason why these crude phosphates should be shipped 

 to Boston, or any other point North, to be worked up, and in 

 some cases adulterated, and returned to him for use, whilst 

 the competition between our own manipulators is so great that 

 he can reasonably expect the price to be low enough for no un- 

 reasonable profits to be left in the hands of the manufacturers. 



A hue and cry comes from all corners of the land to raise 

 money and build cotton factories. Every cotton planter longs 



