safe 



l. XXIII, Second Series. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y, MAY, 1862. 



No 5. 



THE VALUE OF COMMERCIAL MANURES. 



3r. Evan Pugh, President of the Agricultural 

 liege of Pennsylvania, communicates to the 

 untry Gentleman the result of analyses made in 

 i College laboratory of some of the artificial 

 nures offered for sale in this country. 

 3.6 adopts Prof. S. "W. Johnson's estimate of the 

 ue of the leading ingredients found in manures, 

 follows : 



ash (as in wood ashes), 4 cts. per lb. 



isphoric acid in raw or burned bone phos- 

 phates, 4X " " 



isphoric acid in combinations soluble in wa- 

 ter (as in Superphosphates), 12^ " " 



•ogen in forms easily soluble IT " " 



)huric acid 1 " " 



Chis is as fair an estimate as could be made. It 



somewhat higher than that usually adopted in 



gland, and is, therefore favorable to the manu- 



turers. 



["he following artificial manures have been ana- 



ed and their composition accurately determined. 



e amount of ingredients which they contain be- 



; thus known, nothing is easier than to ascertain 



sir exact value. Full details of their composi- 



n are given, and the results are "as follows : 



Selling Heal 



Manures. price. value. 



ides' Superphosphate $45 00 $37 50 



ger & Butts' .Superphosphate, 45 f)0 23 80 



igh & Son's Raw-bone Phosphate, 45 00 22 40 



igh ifc"Son"s Ground Raw-bone, 35 00 36 20 



ker & Clarke's Phosplioric Ferlilizer, 40 00 25 40 



ker & Clarke's Meat and Bone Compost, 25 00 12 60 



pes' Nitrogenized Superphosphate, 50 00 14 60 



li Company's Poudrette, 2 pr bbl. 11 40 



uvian Guano, 60 00 62 80 



^eminent Peruvian Guano, 60 00 37 60 



:iflc Ocean Guano, 50 00 45 60 



Peruvian guano and the ground raw-bones are 

 > only articles that stand the test. None of the 

 ters are worth what is charged for them. 

 ;odes' superphosphate comes nearest to the 

 irk. Dr. Pugh says : 



rhe greatest cheat in the whole lot is that of 

 ipes' sorcalled nitrogenized superphosphate. It 

 3old for nearly three times as much as it is worth, 

 d when sold contains so much worthless matter 

 at the cost of transporting the latter would very 

 iterially increase the cost of what little valuable 



material was obtained in it. The manufacture and 

 sale of such a manure at such a price, implies either 

 gross ignorance or dishonesty, and points out the 

 necessity of our having some means of protecting 

 the farmer from the shameful imposition that sales 

 of such manures inflict. The sale of every 100 

 tons of such a manure annually would imply a loss 

 of at least $3,500 per year to the farmer, to say 

 nothing of the still greater loss of crops resulting 

 from the use of such a worthless manure. 



The Lodi Company's poudrette is sold by meas- 

 ure, and it is, therefore, not easy to determine its 

 real value. The agent of the Company informs us 

 that it weighs about 220 lbs. per barrel, say nine 

 barrels in a ton. Dr. Pugh gives the price at $2 

 per barrel. This would be $18 per ton, while the 

 real value is only $11.40. When seven barrels are 

 taken, the price in New York is $1.50 per barrel, 

 or $13.50 per ton. This, compared with many 

 others, is not a very wide difference between the 

 selling price and the estimated value ; but it is a 

 bulky article, and the freight, in proportion to its 

 value, would be much higher than on Peruvian 

 guano. The real question is: what is a manure 

 worth, delivered ot the farm, and what can it be 

 obtained for — not in New York, out on the farm. 

 A ton of ordinary barn-yard manure, according 

 to the above estimate, is worth $2. But if it had 

 to be transported any long distance, it would not 

 be worth anything — the cost of freight would be 

 more than the value of the manure. In estimat- 

 ing the value of poudrette, therefore, or any other 

 bulky fertilizer, this cost of freight is a very im- 

 portant point. 



In regard to Mapes' manures, little need be add- 

 ed to the remarks of Dr. Pugh. The Boston Cul- 

 tivator, of April 12, in alluding to the above facts, 

 says: 



Some persons may remember that examinations 

 made by Mr. Harris, of the Genesee Farmer, and 

 Prof. S. W. Johnson, of Yale College, some years 

 ago, of Mapes' superphosphate and other manures 

 manufactured by him, presented similar discrepan- 

 cies to the above, in regard to the selling price and 

 calculated value. 



