( 53 ) 

 Two thousand and five hundred pounds of 

 woollen rags suffice to manure an acre of soil, 

 but unfortunately this valuable agricultural 

 element is only to be had in large cities. 

 England imports it from Sicily for the culture 

 of hops. In Provence it is used for all the 

 crops. The rags should be as finely divided 

 as possible, so as to facilitate their uniform 

 distribution over the surface of the fields. 

 According to Boussingault and Payen, wool- 

 len rags contain 12.28 per cent, water, and 

 the dry matter gives 20.26 of Nitrogen. In 

 Paris these rags cost 50 cts. per 100 pounds, 

 in England i^l.25 cts. per 100 pounds. 



Refuse Animal Black. In the refining of 

 sugars, the melted syrup is mixed with bone 

 black and clarified with blood. The filtered 

 mixture leaves upon the cloth a deposit, which, 

 washed, contains all the charcoal employed, 

 the coagulated blood, a little syrup and some 

 vegetable matters contained in the rough su- 

 gar. Thisproduct, dried, contains nearly 21 

 per ct. of blood, to which is mainly due its fer- 

 tilizing action. In 1824, Payen made known 

 its value as a manure, and since then more 

 than twenty millions of pounds of refuse ani- 

 5* 



