^84 



CHEMICAL MANURES. 



favourable circumstances, rarely met with, it becomes soluble in the 

 soil, owing to the nitrogenous matter with which it is mixed. But 

 beyond these conditions, it is no more soluble than the guano from 

 Baker's Island, and consequently it is inactive ; it is no longer sold 

 except in the soluble condition. 



TABLE LXXXV.— ANALYSES OF DIFFEEENT CARGOES OF PERUYL\N GUANO. 



Dissolved Peruvian Guano. — Under this designation the Anglo- 

 Continental Co. deliver a special sort of guano with a guaranteed per- 

 centage of 7 per cent of nitrogen, 9 '5 per cent of phosphoric acid 

 soluble in water ( = 10 to 11 per cent of total phosphoric acid), and 1 

 to 2 per cent of potash f = 2 to 3 'O of sulphate of potash). As guano 

 is generally loaded into ships in the bottom of the hold as ballast, 

 a part of the cargo is perforce drenched with sea water. In the 

 early days, importers placed this damaged portion on one side ; 

 but it ended in locking up considerable capital, and means had to be 

 taken to unlock it. Attempts were made to dry the damaged guano 

 and to sell it cheap to farmers. But this method of utilizing 

 damaged guanos had numerous drawbacks. Nothing in fact could 

 distinguish it from the guano which had not been drenched, neither 

 the outside appearance nor the smell, nor the chemical analysis 

 itself, which showed the same percentage of nitrogen as normal 



guano. 



The importers carefully considered these drawbacks. Accord- 

 ingly, acting on the advice of the chemists, they attempted to 

 improve the damaged guano by dissolving it with sulphuric acid. 

 As the manure so treated gave good results, the result was that this 



