MANURED. 295 



The manure should be harrowed into the surface soil to 

 avoid loss of ammonia and it should be applied to the 

 land a, week or two before sowing to allow time for 

 decomposition. When applied with the seed it interferes 

 with germination. It should never be mixed with super- 

 phosphate or other acid manure as this results in the 

 production of harmful compounds. 



Various experiments have been made with this new 

 manure which point to its Leing nearly, if not quite, equal 

 in value to sulphate of ammonia. 



The manure must be kept dry to avoid loss. Even 

 moist air affects it with the liberation of dangerous 

 inflammable gases. As in the case of nitrate of lime it 

 is therefore advisable to use air-tight drums for its 

 transport. 



PHOSPHATIC MANURES. 



Of the substances used to supply phosphoric acid to 

 the soil, ground bones and the soluble manures derived 

 from them by treatment with sulphuric acid are among 

 the oldest and best known. In Egypt, however, bones are 

 almost entirely employed in the preparation of animal 

 charcoal for the sugar refineries, and the phosphatic man- 

 ures at present of interest to the Egyptian agriculturist 

 may be limited to: 



(a) Raw or mineral phosphate : 



(/;) Mineral superphosphate; 



(r) Basic slag. 



Raw phosphate is only occasionally applied to land in 

 Egypt, but it is interesting as the substance from which 



