1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



173 



FARMERS AND FERTILIZERS. 



LL THROUGH the 



t: "f Any autumn, and up 

 to the present 

 time, the far- 

 mers of New 

 England have 

 met each other 

 for discussion 

 in relation to 

 their business. 

 These meetings 

 have been nu- 

 merously at- 

 tended by practical farmers, 

 many of whom have taken 

 an active part in their exer- 

 cises, participating in the 

 debates, acting upon committees, 

 and presiding when called upon 

 by the president of the day. Near- 

 ' " ly ^11 leading topics relating to the 



management of the farm have been introduced 

 and ably treated. None, however, have awak- 

 ened so much Interest, or occupied so much 

 time, as that relating to what are called special 

 or commercial maimres. These are constantly 

 urged upon the farmer's notice by agents for 

 their sale, by handbills, circulars and adver- 

 tisements in the newspapers. He needs, or 

 thinks he does, something more than the com- 

 mon manures of the farm to aid him in 

 producing paying crops, and being desirous 

 to avail himself of such helps, is anxious to 

 learn what the real value of commercial ma- 

 nures Is. 



At the late meeting of the Massachusetts 

 State Board of Agriculture at Framlngham, 

 the discussion upon special manures enlisted 

 more earnest debaters and patient and inter- 

 ested listeners, than any other. 



Dr. Nichols' eloquent address upon ''Ma- 

 nures, Special and General,"" elicited so many 

 inquiries, that he was kept upon the stand two 

 full hours In stating his own facts, and answer- 

 ing the questions which pressed upon liis audi- 

 ence. 



Much was said in relation to the value of 

 these fertilizers, and the opinion was quite 

 general, that If they were pure. It would be 

 economical for the farmer to use them in mod- 

 erate quantity. Such as In starting certain 

 crops for early market on hill lands Inacces- 

 2 



sible for heavy manures, or pastures too rocky 

 to be ploughed. 



We were present and participated in the 

 discussion at Framlngham, and following the 

 tone of remarks, that many of these fertilizers 

 were gross adulterations, stated that we had 

 learned from reliable authority, that ''Sugar- 

 house waste a.nd Jish pomace were largely con- 

 tracted for by manufacturers of superphos- 

 phate of lime ! We also expressed the opin- 

 ion that the sugar-house waste was valueless 

 as a fertilizer, and that the fish pomace, when 

 sold to farmers brought only $20 a ton, while 

 $60 a ton was demanded for superphosphates. 



Nearly at the close of the meeting and after 

 we had left the hall, President Clark, of the 

 Agricultural College, continued the discussion 

 and stated that the article known as "sugar- 

 house-waste," was carbonized bone, and a fer- 

 tilizing substance of much value ; and that fish 

 pomace was an excellent plant stinndant. 



Referring to this apparent conllict of opin- 

 ion. Dr. Nichols, In his Journal of Vhemistry,. 

 of Feb. 1, says : 



Whilst the two speakers were perfectly coiTect 

 ni then- statements, there were some important 

 pomts overlooked in the discussion, whicli when 

 understood, serve to clear up what possibly mio-ht 

 appear to some as a conflict of statement and opin- 

 ion. Sugar-house waste is composed ot materials 

 derived trom sugar refining, other than the bone ■ 

 coa used tor decolorizing syrups. This rejected 

 coal IS submitted to the action of heat, and the 

 charring process is renewed, when from use the 

 pores become filled with impurities, and it is then 

 Qtted again to serve as a decolorizer. The amount 

 ot bone coal ultimately rendered worthless by re- - 

 peated charring is considerable ; and undoubtedlv 

 this, with the organic tilth removed from dark 

 sugars, constitutes "sugar-house waste;" and this 

 IS what Mr. Brown was told by the retiners was of 

 but "little value," and all of it went to the "super- - 

 phosphate" maker. We know that good dry fish 

 pomace is a manurial agent ^^-orth about S-2b the 

 ton. ihe price in the market in large quantities is 

 sometimes as low as 5J(1.5 the ton. Now, the super- • 

 phosphate maker alluded to may employ both of 

 these articles in compounding his mixture, as inti- - 

 mated by Mr. Brown, and the ingredients, as stated 

 by President Clark, are not worthless ; but the im- 

 poitant point is what is the mixture worth ? what is 

 its acti'.al valne ? That is what tanners wish to ■ 

 know. Has it a fertilizinff value of SCO the ton or 

 only of 20 30, or 40 dollars ? Fanners do not Jare 

 what fertilizing substances a mamifaetiuer employs 

 or where he procures them, or how clieap he niav 

 be able to buy them. Thev are willing to pay a 

 fair profit to the maker for any concentrated assim- 

 liable plant food that he may be able to compound • 

 but they do want to know the exact character of the 

 substances they are solicited to buy, and also their 

 exact commercial and farni value. If a manufac- 

 turer can buy sugar-house waste at one quarter of 

 a cent a pound which is actually worth two cents 

 he is driving a sharp trade, and is entitled to the- 

 benefit of his shrewdness. A fertilizer worth 50 or ■ 

 60 dollars a ton cannot be made from fish-pomace ■ 

 and sugar-house waste, and this was the idea- !»,. 



