FERTILIZERS. 45 



seven. Each is rich in phosphoric acid, nearly all soluble, 

 and has from two to three per cent of potash. The Navassa 

 and Caribbean-sea guanos are rich in insoluble phosphoric 

 acid, but are entirely wanting in nitrogen or potash. I 

 have usually purchased my guano of Seth Chapman's Son 

 & Co., No. 170 Front Street, New- York City, who are the 

 sub-agents of the Peruvian Government for the North- 

 Eastern States. Their published analysis gives to the 

 Standard nine to ten per cent ammonia, twelve per cent 

 phosphoric acid, and three per cent potash. 



It is claimed that the nitrogen in the guano has a value 

 over that contained in manure, into which enters fish 

 blood or meat as a supply of ammonia, and hence called 

 "organic nitrogen," inasmuch as in the guano it is in a 

 form ready to be taken up by plants, while the fish blood 

 and meat must first enter into a state of putrefaction, 

 when some of the nitrogen is set free in a pure state, 

 and, being, in that condition, inert as plant-food, is partly 

 lost to the plant. This loss has been estimated to be from 

 one-sixth to one-third the total amount of nitrogen con- 

 tained in the substance. Be the reason what it may, no 

 one fertilizer has given such universal satisfaction as 

 guano. It, indeed, is the standard by which we almost 

 instinctively measure the value of all other fertilizers. - It 

 having been asserted that about all the guano sold of 

 recent years was an artificial product, made from fish as a 

 base, with enough of real guano added to give the guano 

 color to the fertilizer, I wrote about the matter to Seth 

 Chapman's Son & Co., who are the agents for the sale of 

 his fertilizer. In justice to them, I publish their reply : 



NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 1885. 

 MR. J. J. H. GREGORY, Marblehead, Mass. 



Dear Sir, Yours of the 4th inst. is received. We have heard more or 

 less about adulteration of Peruvian guano ever since Messrs. Hurcado & 

 Co. commenced making it of uniform quality by mixing cargoes of differ- 



