604 A GR1CUL TURE. 



but the deposits there have long been exhausted, and Peru- 

 vian guano, as now sold from other islands, is much inferior, 

 though still valuable. These natural guanos, in addition to the 

 nitrogen, have large percentages of phosphate and some potash. 



Dried fish scraps, left from the manufacture of fish oil, can 

 be had cheaply at many places near the coast, and are a cheap 

 source of nitrogen. When it can be had cheaply, it is good to 

 apply to the soil, but farmers sometimes pay a high price for it 

 in mixed fertilizers, much more than it is worth. Another 

 source of nitrogen is dried blood and flesh from the large slaugh- 

 ter-houses. This is also a valuable article for composting. 

 Tankage is another source of nitrogen. It is made from the 

 refuse entrails and offal of slaughter-houses, steamed to remove 

 the oil, and then dried and reduced to powder. 



But the great source of nitrogen, for the Southern farmer, is 

 the meal made from the cotton-seed cake, after the oil is pressed 

 out. This is one of the best and cheapest forms of nitrogenous 

 compounds, and is of the greatest importance to the Southern 

 farmer in preparing fertilizers at home. It will always pay a 

 cotton planter to exchange his cotton seed for an equal weight 

 of meal and hulls, in proper proportion. The oil is of no use as 

 a manure, and can be profitably sold, if the meal and hulls of 

 same weight are returned to the land. 



