70 



Use of Waste Organic Supjstances. [may, 



In Kent and Surrey (and no doubt elsewhere also) the price 

 of a unit of ammonia derived from rape dust is about 20 per 

 cent, higher than that of ammonia from fish guano, which in 

 turn is somewhat higher than from meat guano. There 

 is no d priori reason for supposing that the actual value as 

 manure differs to this extent, and it is very desirable that the 

 matter should be settled by properly conducted trials. 



Among the samples known to be used as manure were several 

 Bombay cotton cakes yielding 4^ to 6 per cent, of ammonia, 

 and o*2 to 4 per cent, of phosphate ; also certain compound 

 cakes, falling within the same limits of composition, which had 

 in some way got mixed with excessive quantities of sand. The 

 precise value of these cakes cannot be fixed ; 8s. per unit might 

 be offered in the first place for the ammonia and is. for the 

 phosphate, and the price finally agreed on should be well below 

 that of rape meal. 



Shoddy, — Writing a century ago about woollen rags, Young 

 says in his " Farmers' Calendar " article (March) : " They hold 

 " moisture, and are adapted for dry, gravelly, and chalky soils, 

 "and succeed in dry seasons better than most manures, but they 

 '* do little good on wet soils. London rags are found much better 

 " than those collected in the country ; but the danger of catching 

 " the small-pox in chopping and sowing them deters many 

 " farmers from their use." Six to ten cwt. per acre were ploughed 

 in three months before sowing wheat and barley ; one ton per 

 acre was dug into hop gardens. The rags cost about £^ to £6, 

 per ton on the farm. 



To-day woollen rags usually go first to the manufacturer to 

 be torn up, shredded, and again made into cloth, only the por- 

 tions which cannot be utilized in this process being available as 

 manure. Considerable admixtures of dirt, cotton, and occasion- 

 ally oil, may be present, but the mechanical condition is, as a 

 result of the shredding, excellent. 



Shoddies may conveniently be divided into three classes : — 



]. High grade, yielding 15 or 16 per cent, of ammonia, or, in 

 the case of silk waste, 17 per cent. ; the samples are clean and 

 pure, and those sent to Wye College are often highly coloured. 

 This class includes carpet waste and high quality cloth clippings. 

 The supply is somewhat limited, manure manufacturers taking a 



