Annual Report of the Consulting Chemist for 1881. 335 
nitrophosphate and the other as bone-compound. The former 
was sold at 3/. 15s, per ton, and the latter at 4Z. 5s. per ton. 
On analysis I obtained the following results : — 
Xitrophosphate, 
Cost £3 15s. 
per ton. 
Bone-Compound, 
Cost£-l 5s. 
per ton. 
♦Organic matter aud water of combination 
Monobasic phosphate of lime — • 
10-20 
29-72 
1.3-27 
'•20-78) 
4-41 
2G-49 
9-91 
12-15 
18-14 
17-62 
(27-59) 
9-65 
32-45 
9-99 
100-00 
100-00 
1-42 
1-72 
1-07 
1-29 
I am at loss to understand how it is possible to sell two such 
excellent manures, without a considerable loss, at the prices at 
which I Avas informed thev were sold. It appears to me that 
either the manufacturers of these manures were never paid for 
the manures by the dealer who sold them at the remarkably 
low price in order to dispose of them without difficulty, or that, 
for some illegitimate purpose or other, small quantities of 
the manures Avere prepared of very superior quality, which it 
was not intended to supply to the general public. I mention 
these particulars because, occasionally, a fraudulent use is made 
of hond-fide manure-analyses. Buyers of manures often are 
satisfied by having presented to them the analysis and favour- 
able report of a respectable chemist, and never trouble them- 
selves to have tested on delivery the manure bought on the 
strength of such an analysis. 
The only real safeguard against frauds in manure dealings is 
to obtain from the dealer, in the first place, a written guarantee 
that the manure ordered shall agree in quality with that repre- 
sented by the analysis, upon the strength of which the order has 
been given ; and then, as a matter of course, to draw fair 
samples of the bulk on delivery, and to have them analysed by 
a competent chemist, who will be readily able to say whether 
the manure is equal to the guaranteed quality, or how much per 
ton it is worth less than the price which the buyer agreed to give 
for a manure of a definite composition. 
I fear that sometimes farmers are suspicious in matters where 
they should show confidence, and incautious in dealings in 
