VALUE OF ARTIFICIAL MANURES. 39 



It is true the Mexican guano is not quite as bad as the " Econo- 

 mical manure," for it contains 18 per cent, of phosphate of lime, 

 which you well know is a valuable fertilizing constituent ; but it 

 is a farce to call a manure, which contains nearly 70 per cent, of 

 carbonate of lime or chalk, and a mere trace of ammonia, by the 

 name of guano. The analysis shows plainly the true character 

 of the so-called Mexican guano, which in reality is nothing more 

 or less than sea-sand, containing a certain amount of fragments 

 of fish-bones. 



With respect to the second manure given in the above diagram, 

 I would observe that a more fraudulent case, excepting the British 

 Economical, has never been brought under my notice. Instead of 

 16 per cent, of ammonia, which good Peruvian guano contains, 

 this essence has only six-tenths per cent., and instead of 20 to 

 25 per cent, of phosphate of lime or bone-earth, only two to three- 

 tenths per cent. The examination, indeed, lias shown that this 

 " essence of guano " contained a mere trace of Peruvian guano, a 

 large quantity of gypsum, lime, sand, brick-dust, common salt, 

 and sheep's dung. So clumsily was the mixture made, that the 

 last-mentioned ingredient could be readily identified by its 

 characteristic form. 



How is it, it may well be asked, that such and similar manures 

 can find purchasers in an enlightened country like England ? The 

 answer to this question is to be found in the credulity of many, 

 who, strange to say, place more reliance upon printed testimo- 

 nials, than upon the only trustworthy means of ascertaining the 

 value of manures, i. e. chemical analysis. Let me guard you 

 against being deceived by enticing testimonials, for, generally 

 speaking, the worse the manure the more favourable the testimo- 

 nials. Gas-lime, road-scrapings, peat-ashes, and similar refuse 

 matters, in a more or less disorganised state, can be sold, as 

 shown by actual experience, at high prices, and the most favour- 

 able testimonials respecting their efficacy can be obtained, if an 

 originator of a fraudulent manure makes up his mind to spend a 

 couple of thousand pounds in advertisements, getting up testi- 

 monials, and otherwise pushing his manures. 



I feel much tempted to bring under your notice other fraudu- 

 lent manures, which are at the present time largely advertised in 

 agricultural periodicals, but the cases just mentioned I trust will 

 suffice to put the unsuspecting farmer on his guard. 



It must not be supposed, however, that fertilisers of recognised 

 merit, such as guano or superphosphate, offer no temptation to 

 the unprincipled dealers to fleece the unwary. Indeed, guano 

 and superphosphate are as much adulterated as any other descrip- 

 tion of artificial manure, and it may not therefore be amiss to 

 allude briefly to the composition of good and inferior guanos, 



