454 SELECTIONS FROM ADDRESSES. 



leached ashes may be used with still greater benefit, a large 

 proportion of phosphate of potash being formed. 



A native mineral phosphate of lime, called apatite, and aspar- 

 agus stone, is found in the rocks. It is rather a rare mineral 

 in this vicinity, and there are but few localities in the world 

 where a large supply of it can be obtained. The British gov- 

 ernment sent Prof. Daubeny to Estramadura, in Spain, to exam- 

 ine the most abundant locality of it known in Europe, but it 

 was not found to exist in sufficient quantities to repay the ex- 

 pense of bringing it to England. The experiments tried with 

 samples of it, by Prof. Daubeny, proved it to be equal in value 

 to ground bones. 



I have the pleasure of stating that Mr. Francis Alger and 

 myself, during the month of June last, discovered an important 

 vein of this mineral in Hurdstown, N. J., and by my advice, 

 Mr. Alger has purchased the vein, and will soon introduce the 

 prepared mineral into agricultural use in this State. The native 

 phosphate of lime contains also a small proportion of fluorine 

 and chlorine, so as to render it capable of supplying the materi- 

 als needed in our granite soils. It is obvious that the mineral 

 phosphate of lime will answer full as well for supplying phos- 

 phates to plants, as the phosphate of lime of bones, and since 

 it is free from any admixture with carbonate of lime, it will 

 not require so much sulphuric acid to decompose it. 



In St. Lawrence county, New York, a considerable quantity 

 of native phosphate of lime is found in the form of crystals 

 of a bright green color. I am not aware of any experiments 

 having been made with it in practical agriculture. 



In England, every fossil containing phosphate of lime is 

 sought for with avidity by intelligent farmers, and such mate- 

 rials are dissolved in sulphuric acid and water, and sprinkled on 

 the soil, and by this means the land is made doubly productive. 

 Even coprolites are used when they contain but ten per cent, 

 of phosphates, and rocks containing a few fossil bones are read- 

 ily sold. Peruvian guano contains about half its weight of 

 phosphates, and those salts are its most permanent fertilizing 

 materials. In fish manure, the bones which consist of phos- 

 phate of lime remain in the soil a long time after the animal 



