INTRODUCTION. 21 



no criterion of their merits or value, this book 

 will come directly to his assistance, and of the 

 many evils of fraud and deception, he will be 

 enabled to choose the least. 



The manufacture of superphosphate of lime 

 will be fully reviewed, showing what it now is, 

 and what it should be. 



Full analyses, with critical examinations, will 

 be given, with a money value, based on the 

 amount of the valuable constituents, solubility, 

 and mechanical condition of the different man- 

 ures. 



These analyses of the different manufactured 

 manures were made by Dr. William H. Bruckner. 

 Samples were obtained, as follows : Packages 

 already put up for sale to the farmer were pur- 

 chased from the manufacturers or their agents. 

 Each package was opened as soon as it arrived 

 at our office, in the presence of witnesses, its 

 contents thoroughly mixed, and a sample of about 

 five pounds taken from at least fifty places of the 

 thoroughly mixed heap, thus guarding against 

 varying quality in the mass. Two analyses in 

 all cases were made of different portions of this 

 five-pound sample ; hence there cannot possibly 

 be any error in the result. 



Having guarded ourselves against all possible 

 contingencies, there will be no retraction on our 

 part of anything stated about manufactured 



