674 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[November 



If then the expenses of transportation are 

 small, as they are when large quantities are 

 shipped, there is no reason why our farmers, 

 who are located near tide-water, may not 

 use this fertilizer to great advantage, espe- 

 cially if they can have a good article gua- 

 ranteed them. 



The marl is especially useful for potatoes 

 and root crops, but on poor soils is good for 

 any crop. It is applied at the rate of one 

 to two hundred bushels per acre. 



"ANIMALIZED PHOSPHATE OF LIME." 



A specimen of the so-called "Animalized 

 Phosphate of Lime," made by Hartley & 

 Co., of Plymouth, Conn., received from Mr. 

 Dyer, was analyzed with the following re- 



sults, per cent. : 



Water, 6.18 



Sand and silica, 8.12 



Organic and volatile matter, 8.61 



Hydrated sulphate of lime, (unburned 



plaster.) 55.50 



Carbonate of lime, . 13.03 



Magnesia, 1.77 



Oxyd of iron, alumina and phosphoric 



acid, 1.76 



Carbonic acid (combined with alkalies,) 1.03 



Alkalies, chlorine and loss, 4.00 



100.00 



Ammonia yielded by organic matter, 0.33 0.35 



The analysis is not fully carried out, sep- 

 arate determinations of the quantity of phos- 

 phoric acid and of potash not having been 

 made. The phosphoric acid cannot amount 

 to more than 1\ per cent., the potash not 

 more than 3 per cent. These quantities are 

 of small account in a high-priced fertilizer. 

 To finish the analysis in these particulars 

 would serve no important use. 



I find by a simple calculation that a ma- 

 nure equal, and indeed superior to the above, 

 in composition and value, weight for weight, 

 may be made after the following recipe : 



60 pounds of ground plaster. 



37 " hard wood ashes (unleached.) 

 3 " Peruvian guano. 



Such a mixture can be manufactured at a 

 profit for $10 per ton, and if I do not great- 

 ly mistake, most farmers can get the ingre- 

 dients for $5 to $1 per ton. 



This article claims to be " made from the 

 bones, blood and flesh of animals, digested 

 in acid liquors, and dessicated with various 

 salioe fertilizers, in such a manner that all 

 the valuable gases and salts are retained in 

 a dry powder It is seen that the quanti- 



ty of " various saline fertilizers/' is so large 

 compared with the "bones, blood and flesh 

 of animals," that the result is comparatively 

 worthless, commercially speaking. "When 

 we consider that 75 to 80 per cent, of a 

 dead animal is water, it is easy to under- 

 stand that it requires careful manufacturing 

 to make a concentrated manure from the 

 carcasses of horses, &c. 



It is usual to employ oil-of-vitriol to de- 

 compose and deodorize animal matters in 

 preparing manures. This is very well, but 

 if a large quantity of cheap materials are 

 afterward mixed up with the product, the 

 value of the whole becomes so reduced, that 

 the expense of manufacturing is a dead loss 

 to the farmer who in the end pays for it, in 

 case the manure finds a market. 



If the sample furnished me represents 

 the average quality of this manure, it may 

 be confidently asserted that those who pay 

 for it $50 per ton, (the manufacturer's 

 price,) will lose the better share of their 

 money. 



PERUVIAN GUANO. 

 From the Store of Wm. Kellogg, Hartford. 



Water, 17.22 17.41 



Organic matter, 49 44 49.60 



Total ammonia, 16.32 16.38 



Phosphoric acid, soluble in water, 2.32 2.32 



insoluble " 11.03 10.81 



Sand, 1.90 2.07 



Calculated value, $61.20 



The above figures show that this fertil- 

 izer maintains its uniformity and excellence 

 of composition to a remarkable degree. 



The soluble phosphoric acid, it should be 

 remembered, is equal in quantity to the 

 average amount of this ingredient in our 

 commercial superphosphates, and is accom- 

 panied with two to three per cent, of potash, 

 which, though of trifling commercial value 

 by the side of ammonia, is nevertheless of 

 great manurial worth on the light soils where 

 guano is most often applied. 



ELIDE GUANO. 



This is an article that purports to come 

 from the coast of California. It is a genu- 

 ine guano, similar, though inferior to Peru- 

 vian. It is afforded at two- thirds the price 

 of Peruvian, and an analysis is of much in- 

 terest as showing its real commercial value. 

 It appears from the analyses of other chem- 

 ists that this guano is quite variable in com- 

 position, at least, so far as the quantity of 

 moisture is concerned. I give some of the 



