256 AMERICAN MANURES. 



is as much puzzled in the selection of a good 

 manure, as he would be without seeing the 

 certificates. 



If this business had been legitimately con- 

 ducted, and the price regulated by the quality 

 and condition of the valuable constituents of the 

 fertilizer, manufacturers would have no occasion 

 to resort to customers' certificates. 



There is another class of certificates that, un- 

 fortunately, do not meet the public eye, namely : 

 The complaints of those who have realized that 

 they have been swindled in the purchase of these 

 manures. These certificates would present an 

 interesting sequel to the others, and in number 

 as well as in force, would completely overshadow 

 them. If time and space permitted, we could 

 give a long list of these negative certificates that 

 would be anything but interesting reading for 

 the manufacturers. An illustration of the un- 

 reliability of certificates is seen in the samples 

 we have given from the users of the Bromophyte, 

 a manure that is almost worthless. Some of its 

 users certify that it is better than Peruvian 

 Guano, or the Patapsco Ammoniated Phosphate, 

 the latter, according to our analyses, being one 

 of the best superphosphates now made in this 

 country. Many certificates are given before the 

 crop is harvested ; such premature statements 

 must be very unreliable. Farmers should realize 



