264 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



possible to say, as the whole would be pre- 

 cipitated the moment it came in confact 

 with the powdered limestone; but, when 

 a manufacturer descends so low as to adul- 

 terate his manure with such stuff, and then 

 sell it to farmers at $50 a ton, we may 

 safely conclude that he will not concern 

 himself much as to the condition of the 

 constituents, but will make it at as little 

 cost as possible. 



Mapes says in the pamphlet, that he 

 makes the manure of bone dust, sulphu- 

 ric acid, Peruvian guano, and sulphate of 

 ammonia, but forgets the mention of the 

 limestone; instead of using bone dust he 

 uses bone black, which by the way is just 

 as good, but prefers to use the term " bone 

 dust," because he knows that there is a 

 prejudice against the bone black. The 

 guano used must have been applied byway 

 of seasoning, as salt is to food. There are 

 several very elaborate analyses given in 

 the pamphlet, which were made by distin- 

 guished chemists, but they are the analy- 

 ses of samples furnished these gentlemen by 

 the manufacturer, and are not to be relied on. 

 The same manufactory also turns out 

 Mapes' JVitrogenized Superphosphate of 

 Lime, Mapes' JVo. 1 Superphosphate of 

 Lime, and Mape's Cotton and Tobacco Fer- 

 tilizer. I have not yet analyzed either of 

 these manures, but would say to farmers 

 beware of them, until you have something 

 more than the manufacturer's statements 

 regarding their composition or value. 



From what I have said it is manifest 

 that neither De Burg's nor Mapes' Super- 

 phosphate have any claim to the confidence 

 of the agricultural public ; of the two, 

 however, De Burg's is far preferable, as it 

 contains more fertilizing; matter, and its 

 price is considerably less than that of 

 Mapes'. 



I have also examined a superphosphate 

 made in Richmond, and sold at the modest 

 price of $40 per ton ; it does not contain 

 any soluble phosphates, and the neutral 

 phosphate of lime present amounts to but 

 scant 18 per cent; it contains also about 

 25 per cent, of plaster, and 17 per cent, 

 of water, with a superabundance of wood 

 ashes, and a seasoning of about 1 per cent, 

 of salt. The condition of the manure 

 shows very clearty that a very considerable 

 portion of the bone phosphate was never 

 acted upon at all by the sulphuric acid, 

 and what little superphosphate was form- 



ed, was precipitated the moment the ashes 

 came in contact with it. At the present 

 prices of bones, sulphuric acid, salt and 

 ashes, this manure could not have cost the 

 maker more than from $20 to $22 per 

 ton, and yet he sells it at $40. From all 

 that I can learn 1 am satisfied that the 

 great inferiority of this manure is the re- 

 sult of ignorance and want of skill, rat her 

 than a deliberate attempt on the part of 

 the manufacturer, to defraud the asricul- 

 tural community. 



Last summer, Prof. Johnson of the Yale 

 ^College Analytical Laboratory, analyzed 

 eight samples of superphosphates of lime 

 from five different manufactories, and out 

 of these eight, " only tw T o, viz: De Burg's 

 No. 1 ammoniated, and Eve's Improved, 

 were manufactured \>$ith any respectable 

 combination of knowledge and honesty, 

 two indispensable requisites for this kind 

 of business. And these manures contain- 

 ed respectively but 2| and 4^ per cent, of 

 soluble phosphoric acid. Hildreth's super- 

 phosphate (New York) contained 5^ per 

 cent, of phosphoric acid, and of this none 

 was soluble ! In face of these facts, he is 

 a bold man who now buys superphosphate 

 of lime." 



Hildreth's superphosphates, summarily 

 disposed of by' the Prof., is advertised in 

 the American Farmer of Baltimore, and a 

 letter from Dr. Jackson of Boston, is pub- 

 lished in which he states that the manure 

 contains 24 per cent, of soluble matter, a 

 large part of which we are led to infer is 

 phosphoric acid. 



These examples are sufficient to show 

 that very few, if any, of the superphos- 

 phates in our country are genuine, and 

 that farmers should exercise the utmost 

 caution in their purchase. Farmers are 

 frequently recommended to protect them- 

 selves from frauds and high prices, by pur- 

 chasing the materials and making the ma- 

 nure for themselves ; and full directions 

 for the preparation of superphosphate of 

 lime, have been given in most of the agri- 

 cultural journals. For myself I cannot 

 think sucji a course advisable ; besides 

 there are very few farmers who can be in- 

 duced to adopt this plan. The farm is the 

 place for making compost heaps, and for 

 saving stable manure, but not the place for 

 the preparation of mineral manures ; and 

 if superphosphates are not to *come into 

 general use until farmers make them, the 



