410 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



sent to a chemist who has been, until recently, acting as an 

 inspector of manures in one of our States. He valued one man- 

 ure at $63 a ton, another $40 per ton, and the third at $16 per 

 ton. The one he valued at $63 is of no value as a fertilizer, being 

 that made from the rock; while that rated at $16 is worth more 

 per ton, practically, many, times more than the one rated at $63. 



A vessel was sunk some time since, near Baltimore, and after- 

 wards raised; the cargo was phosphate, and was analyzed to 

 enable the Insurance Company to ascertain its value ; the chemist 

 estimated it at $10 a ton; it was sold at auction for $11 a ton. 

 The buyer of that cargo, guided by his experience in using it 

 alongside of other fertilizers, the next year paid for the same class 

 of manure, $55 per ton ; showing that his experience was entirely 

 opposed to the result obtained in the analysis. 



The error concerning the value of analysis, I at one time shared 

 in common with all, and, in my practice, mistaking my premises, 

 believed I was proving it to be true. That is, after making an 

 analysis of the soil, and adding the constituents which existed 

 in the least quantity, I realized increased crops, but failed to 

 observe that the materials I added were very differently condi- 

 tioned from the same materials, as usually found as components 

 of the soil. In an argument against the analyzation of soils 

 brought forward some years ago, the writer stated that the rich 

 and fertile soil of the Miama Valley was, by analysis, the same 

 precisely as a sterile soil of a certain portion of Massachusetts. 

 It was advanced that the Massachusetts soil was coarse and 

 pebbly, while that of the Miami Valley was a fine rich debris. 

 Experiments were then made, by grinding these pebbles down to 

 the same texture as the Miami soil, and it was then tried in pots, 

 but proved still to be a barren soil compared with that of the 

 Miami Valley. This was considered by many at that time, as a 

 decided refutation of the arguments in favor of analyzing soils and 

 fertilizers ; and I think I shall be able to demonstrate to you, 

 during my remarks, that the value of a manure will depend upon 

 the condition of the constitutents rather than their relative 

 quantities. 



An analysis of a soil may show that within a depth of ten 

 inches from the surface it contains potash enough for 2,484 crops ; 

 phosphates enough for 7*75 crops; lime enough for 35,388 crops; 

 soda enough for 37,777 crops, and silex enough for 22,144,444, and 

 80 on, and yet that very soil may not be fertile, unless these same 



