Annual Report of the Consulting Chemist for 1879. 315 
£ s. d. 
The cost of No. 1 was 5 4 G per ton 
„ No. 2 „ 4 12 G „ and 
„ No. 3 „ 4 15 0 „ 
Both No. 1 and No. 2, it will be seen, are good mineral super- 
phosphates. In No. 1, 32 per cent, of soluble phosphate cost 
5/. 4s. 6f/., or 104s. Qd., which makes the price for the unit per 
cent, of soluble phosphate 3s. 3c?. 
In the superphosphate No. 2, 28 per cent, of soluble cost 
4/. 12s. Q)d., or 92s. 6f/., or the unit per cent. 3s. 3|rZ. 
The more expensive of the two superphosphates thus was 
really the cheaper of the two, for, making no allowance for any 
of the other constituents of the two samples, the unit per cent, of 
soluble phosphate in No. 1 was obtained at ^d. less than it cost 
in No. 2. Both manures were cheap at the price at which they 
were sold. On the same basis of valuation the turnip-manure, 
which was sold at 11. Is., would be worth only 3Z. 5s., or less 
than one-half the price at which it was actually sold. The 
sample marked No. 3, costing 4Z. 15s. a ton, was sold as a 
bone-phosphate, but it contained no bone, and was a poor 
superphosphate made from bone-ash, with the addition of much 
gypsum, and, I need hardly say, was not worth 4Z. 15s. a ton. 
Indeed 1 ton of the sample No. 2, costing 4Z. 12s. 6f/., is worth 
rather more than 2 tons of the so-called bone-phosphate No. 3, 
costing 9/. 10s. 
The name dissolved bones, I regret to say, still continues to 
be applied to mixtures of mineral superphosphates and small 
proportions of bone. 
Thus a sample of so-called dissolved bone, the selling price 
of which was 6Z. 10s. a ton, had the following composition : — 
Moisture 11-85 
*Organic matter and water of combination .. .. 20 '61 
Monobasic phosphate of lime 6 • 59 
(Equal to tribasic phosphate of lime) /i a . 1 1 \ 
rendered soluble by acid) .. ..j^ ^ 
Insoluble phosphates 5 • 94 
Sulphate of lime, &c 47 "62 
Insoluble siliceous matter 7 • 39 
100-00 
* Containing nitrogen '65 
Equal to ammonia -79 
The manure contained only 8 per cent, of bone, and thus 
should not have been sold under the name of dissolved bone ; 
nor should 6Z. 10s. have been asked for it, for it would not have 
been cheap at 3Z. 10s. a ton. 
