117 



THE HONDURAS SARSAPARILLA INDUSTRY. 



Next to bananas, sarsaparilla is the principal export- article from 

 Puerto Corte.z, in Honduras. In the year ended August, 1, 1892. 

 which is the last of which statistics have been published, the exports 

 amounted to 62,561 lbs. The whole of this goes to the United States, 

 whence the British and continental markets are supplied. The British 

 Consul at Puerto Cortez is strongly of opinion that the whole of it 

 would go to London if there were direct steam -communication with 

 that city, and he thinks that the bulk of the goods now imported from 

 the United States for the Honduras market would, also in that case, 

 be purchased in England. The price paid at Puerto Cortez 

 to the collectors of sarsaparilla varies, according to quality, from 7 to 9 

 soles per arroba (14s. to 18s. per 25 lbs). The sarsaparilla has to be 

 assorted, made up into rolls, and packed in hide covered bales before 

 shipment, which adds 5c. per lb. to its cost. An export-duty of 8 per 

 cent, on a conventional value of 16c. per lb. is also charged on the drug. 

 It appears from these figures that the lowest price at which Honduras 

 root can be shipped from the central American coast is 9Jd. per lb. 

 (collecting 6Jd., packing, &c, 2^d., export duty, f d. per lb). It has 

 then to be shipped to New Orleans or New York, and thence to Europe. 

 The present London market rate at Is. 2d. to Is. 3d. per lb. can, there- 

 fore, only leave a moderate profit to those concerned in the business. — 

 Chemist 8f Druggist. 



THE RELATIVE FERTILISING VALUE OF THE 

 NITROGEN IN ALFALFA AND IN STABLE 

 MANURE. 



In pot experiments the author compared the fertilising value of 

 young alfalfa and of stable manure produced by feeding the s^me 

 quality of alfalfa to a steer. The steer was kept on a maintenance 

 ration, neither increasing nor decreasing in weight. After being fed 

 for a number of days on alfalfa alone the solid and liquid manure was 

 saved separately and analysed. The solid and liquid excrement was 

 used in the proportions produced : 185.95 gm. of solid excrement con- 

 taining 0.361 per cent of nitrogen and 250 gm. of urine containing 

 1.38 per cent of nitrogen, were used on each pot of the manure series, 

 the total nitrogen supplied to each pot being 4.1168 gm. 



Each of the pots of the green-manure series received 4.1168 gm. of 

 nitrogen in the form 565.5 gm. of green alfalfa not in bloom. This 

 was applied at the rate of nearly 18,000 lbs. per acre, and supplied 

 nearly 130 lbs. of nitrogen per acre, the same rate at which the nitro- 

 gen of stable manure was employed. 



Another series of pots received each the same quantity of nitrogen 

 (4.1168 gm.) in the form of sulphate of amonia, supplemented by phos- 

 phatic and potassic fertilisers, supply 49 lbs, of phosphoric acid and 70 

 lbs of potash per acre. These last mentioned fertilisers were intended 

 to offset the phosphoric acid and potash in the green alfalfa and in th« 

 stable manure. 



