ANALYSES. 233 



provide the means to make sufficient for the growing crop 

 dissolvable, the balance remaining in the soil to be acted upon 

 by the air and water of the soil to provide food for future crops.' 



No. 3. " A benefit derived from the use of a powerful man 

 ure, such as the ' Complete Manure,' is that it forces the young 

 plant forward by reason of the large amount of soluble matter 

 it contains. The importance of this cannot well be overesti 

 mated, as the plant soon reaches that degree of strength and 

 toughness which will prevent an early frost from injuring, or 

 some insect from devouring it ; hence it may be said to be par- 

 ticularly applicable to cotton, tobacco, wheat, corn, potatoes, 

 and other root vegetables, as all the young plants of these are 

 subject to the ravages of the insect, or the blight of the frost.' 



No. 4. " In manufactured manures, much of their agricultural 

 value depends upon the mechanical condition in which they are 

 supplied, the extent to which the component parts have beer, 

 pulverized and intermixed ; the richest manure, chemically speak 

 ing, will be of little use unless it is moderately dry, reduced to 

 fine powder, and its constituents thoroughly incorporated. This 

 must be borne in mind in judging of the value of a manure, arid 

 a proportionate price ought to be allowed for the degree of com- 

 pleteness with which these matters have been attended to. Al- 

 though in theory the production of an artificial fertilizer is a 

 very simple matter, in practice it is found somewhat trouble- 

 some, from the difficulty of producing a manageable article, and 

 a great deal of experience and skill are required to prepare a 

 manure of the requisite chemical strength, and mechanical 

 condition." 



No. 5. u ln speaking with farmers during the past season, 

 many complaints have been met with of the inefficiency of some 

 superphosphates, prepared guanos, poudrettes, and other so- 

 called manures, some of them with high-sounding titles, having 

 failed to produce the results their manufacturers claimed they 

 would give. This has, no doubt, in some instances been the re- 

 sult of a bad season, or bad farming, or some untoward cause 

 which is unaccountable ; but there is good reason to fear that 

 it has been the result of adulteration." 



No. 6. "The adulteration of manures, as indeed of all other 

 articles of commerce, is a practice that cannot be too strongly 



