Miscellaneous  Results  from  the  Laboratory. 
765 
refuse  of  the  woollen  manufacture,  which,  partaking  of  its  dia- 
meter, might  be  supposed  also  to  possess  somewhat  of  its  value 
as  a manure ; and  it  was  showed  that  nothing  but  a chemical 
analysis  of  the  sample  itself  could  enable  the  farmer  to  form  an 
opinion  of  any  particular  waste  substance  as  manure.  These 
remarks  apply  with  equal  truth  to  the  analyses  which  are  now 
given. 
Seal  skin. — The  skin  of  the  seal  is  largely  used  for  making 
caps,  tobacco  pouches,  &c.,  and  the  waste  pieces  which  accumu- 
late in  considerable  quantities  are  sold  at  a cheap  rate  for  manure. 
A sample  of  this  substance  was  some  months  ago  sent  to  the 
laboratory  for  analysis  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Huxtable,  and  more 
lately  a specimen  of  the  same  refuse  has  been  examined  for  Mr. 
Paine,  of  Farnham. 
The  seal  refuse  from  Mr.  Huxtable  consisted  partly  of  skin 
and  partly  of  hair,  both  of  which  were  very  wet. 
The  hair  contained  54 '83  per  cent,  of  water.  The  skin  about 
60  per  cent. 
Analjzed  for  nitrogen  they  gave  respectively,  token  dried: — 
The  skin  ....  10‘53  per  cent. 
The  hair  . . . . 7 * UG  ,, 
Animal  products  of  this  kind  possess  little  or  no  mineral  in- 
gredients worthy  of  mention — their  value  as  manure  will,  there- 
fore, rest  almost  exclusively  upon  the  proportion  of  nitrogen,  or, 
in  other  words,  on  the  quantity  of  ammonia  which  they  will  ulti- 
mately yield  to  the  soil. 
The  sample  of  seal  skin  analysed  for  Mr.  Paine  was  also  very 
wet ; it  was  mixed  apparently  with  a quantity  of  sawdust,  which,  as 
will  be  seen,  had  greatly  detracted  from  its  value. 
Water  in  the  skin  . . . . 42 '36  per  cent. 
Nitrogen  on  the  dried  substance  . . . 4*91  ,, 
The  following  are  the  quantities  of  nitrogen,  or  of  ammonia ,. 
which  would  be  furnished  by  a ton  of  these  three  samples  in  their 
naturally  wet  state  as  purchased  : — 
Nitrogen  in  a ton.  Ammonia  from  a ton. 
lbs.  lbs. 
Skin,  1st  specimen  ....  944  115 
Ditto,  2nd  , , . . . . 63f  77 
Hair 804  98 
The  price  at  which  this  refuse  animal  matter  is  to  be  pro- 
cured differs  from  time  to  time  as  much  or  more  than  its  com- 
position. Mr.  Huxtable  paid,  I believe,  16s.  a ton  in  London 
(carriage  not  included).  Mr.  Paine  informs  me  that  he  gave 
for  the  quantity  he  purchased  21.  15s.  per  ton  (also  without  car- 
riage), which  he  considers  too  dear  in  comparison  with  other 
manures  in  the  market.  “Still,”  he  says,  “it  told  well  as  a 
manure  for  hops.” 
VOL.  XI.  3 D 
