No. 129.] 271 



lime , others two and three per cent, of ammonia, and a trace 

 of phosphate of lime. Chemists mean by a " trace^"^ a particle so 

 small that it is not to be appreciated, it is worthless. Professor 

 N. stated that he had received letters from various gentlemen 

 lately on the subject, including Professor Calvert, of Manchester, 

 and Professor Anderson, of Edinbuigh, corroborating the fact of 

 the immense adulteration of special or artificial manures. These 

 gentlemen have both analyzed samples of guano highly adulter- 

 ated. Professor Calvert stated in a letter received that very day, 

 that he had lately analyzed some that contained from seventy to 

 eighty per cent, of sand. "Numbers of men in London," says 

 Professor Nesbitt, " are now making from two to three thousand 

 pounds sterling per year by the sale of adulterated special ma- 

 nure. I have placed the matter," says the Professor, "before you 

 because I think it ought to go torth to the agricultural world 

 that farmers are being regularly and systematically cheated, that 

 they are imposed upon in this matter, that they are constantly 

 buying sand for guano, and oyster shells for bones or phosphate 

 of lime." 



The Professor further states that he had received letters re- 

 cently from eminent chemists in France on the adulteration of 

 manures there, where some roll seeds in powder, and others steep 

 them in certain liquids, and pretend that the seed will grow and 

 mature after this without any further trouble, imparting to them 

 a certain mysterious charm. The French savans say this is too 

 ridiculous to last, the evil will cure itself. It is not much more 

 ridiculous than the system proposed a few years since, and 

 that by men eminent as chemists, to make use of only mine- 

 ral manure, to reduce all the farm yard manure to ashes by 

 burning, make use of the ashes, and thus have all the virtue 

 of one thousand tons of barn yard manure concentrated in a 

 small compass ; that this would save the expense of labor and 

 carriage in moving it about. This system, it is believed, is pretty 

 much abandoned \ at any rate, very little has been heard of it 

 lately. It was either too ridiculous to try, or the few practical 

 converts, if it ever had any, gave no account of their experiments, 

 as they must in doing this have exposed their own weakness and 

 credulity. The rebuke the Scotc-h laird, who was a convert to 



