[80 
AGRICULTURE IN SCOTLAND'. 
^grimltute in ScotianbJ—No. £L 
Guano and other Manures. —I have never been so 
hilly impressed with the truth of the maxim, that “a 
iemand creates a supply/’ as in this country during 
the last twelve months. What was first an opinion, 
nas now become a settled conviction, of the efficacy of 
guano, nitrate of soda, phosphate of lime, and kin¬ 
dred manures. With this conviction has increased 
the demand ; scarcely any farmer is content without 
something beside that which he is able to make on 
his own farm. Of Guano, alone, it is estimated that 
not less than 200,000 tons will be applied to the soil 
of this country during the coming season, at an ex¬ 
pense of some £1,500,000. There is not a desolate 
island on the African or South American coast, that 
will not be visited in quest of this substance, so lately 
unvalued, and almost unknown. 
But while some search foreign lands, others are 
seeking out long neglected sources of wealth at home. 
Almost every week brings to this laboratory for 
analysis, some new varieties of manures. Substances 
which have been thrown into the nearest stream, or 
suffered to accumulate in unsightly heaps, are now 
carefully preserved, their value determined by che¬ 
mical investigation, and their application eagerly 
commenced. There is indeed now some danger that 
the farmers may be deceived and seriously injured by 
implicitly trusting to the highly colored announce¬ 
ments which meet them at every turn; and not the 
least benefit of this Chemical Association to the peo¬ 
ple of Scotland, is, the protection which it has afford¬ 
ed them from imposition ; while, on the other hand, 
it has shown what was really valuable. 
Sugar-House Refuse .—A detailed account of the 
various substances analyzed here with a view of deter¬ 
mining their value as manures, would form a most 
interesting and instructive volume. The refuse of 
almost every kind of manufactory is now carefully 
collected, and many of them are of much importance. 
I have lately examined the refuse of a sugar manu¬ 
factory in Leith, brought here by a gentleman who 
supposed that it might be worth saving. According 
to my analysis its composition was as follows: 
Water,.46.5 
Blood and Saccharine matter - 35.11 
Phosphate of Lime, - - - 11.99 
Carbonate of.Lime, - 1.73 
Sulphate of Lime, - 1.13 
Common Salt, .... 0.35 
Clay and Sand, ... - 3.16 
99.97 
If we consider that blood is one of the most powerful 
manures known, and that the phosphates are quite 
indispensable to the growth of our crops, we find that 
this is a most valuable manure. As it comes from 
the manufactory, it contains 46.5 pr. ct., or nearly 
one-half of water; but were it dry, the blood, &c., 
would amount to 65.62, and the phosphates to 22.61. 
It would be then scarcely inferior to Guano. Though 
hitherto little thought of in this country, its worth 
has been long known in France as a manure for the 
vines. On the Loire, and in several Departments in 
the west, it is used largely. About 10,000 tons are 
annually imported into France; it is sold at 3 francs 
and upwards per bushel. 
I do not know whether this refuse is employed as 
a manure in the United States ; if not, I hope that this 
may prevent any farther waste of so valuable a sub¬ 
stance. (a) It may be well to state, that evil effects 
have sometimes followed its application in a fresh 
state, owing, no doubt, to some of the organic acids 
from the sugar. This danger may be obviated by 
allowing it to remain over one season, or by making 
it into compost. 
Treacle. —In connection with the same subject I 
analyzed the ash left after evaporating and burning a 
quantity of inferior sugar house molasses, called here 
“ treacle/’ The per centage of ash was 2.89. Below 
I give its composition, and the quantity of each ingre¬ 
dient in the molasses itself. 
Composition of Ash. Quantities in Molasses. 
Gypsum (Sul. of Lime) 5. 37 j>. ct. eqiraPg in molasses 0. 15 p. ct. 
Com. salt & Car. of Soda 71.44 „ „ 2. 06 .. 
Phosphate of Lime_4. 61 „ „ 0. 14 .. 
Lime.4.92 ,, „ 0.15.. 
Magnesia.9. 04 ,, „ 0. 26 .. 
Siliceous matter and clay 3.22 „ ,, 0.09 .. 
98.60 2.85 
We see, then, that each 100 lbs. of molasses carries 
off between two and three lbs. of inorganic constitu¬ 
ents from the soil. In a series of years this loss, un¬ 
less repaired, would make itself visible. 
Cane Ashes —But there is a far more serious fault 
than this, which I fear many of our Southern breth¬ 
ren have committed in the waste of the ash of their 
canes. For their benefit I will annex the analyses of 
two cane ashes by Mr. Fromberg, first assistant in 
this Laboratory. 
Ash from Jamaica. From Tobago. 
Potash, ----- 
Soda, 
Magnesia, - 
Sulphuric Acid, 
Phosphoric Acid, 
Carbonic Acid, 
Chlorine, - 
Lime, in state of Sujphate, 
-Carbonate, 
-Phosphate, 
Alumina, - 
Protoxide of Iron, - 
-Manganese, - 
Silica, with some Silicate of 
Alumina, - 
This letter has already extended to such a length 
that I will add little respecting the above. I am sure 
that no intelligent planter who sees it will ever 
again throw away his cane-ash, but will carefully re¬ 
turn it to the soil to serve as the framework of future 
plants. The subject has awakened much attention 
among the West India planters, and they now pre¬ 
serve not only the ash, but every product of the sugar 
making that was formerly wasted. 
John P. Norton. 
Edinburgh , April 1 , 1845. 
(a) It is highly valued in this city, and Mr. Wool- 
sey for one, has made several interesting experiments 
with it on his farm at Hellegat-Neck. It was found 
superior to poudrette on corn and other products, 
and it imparts a deliciousness of flavor to the differ¬ 
ent kinds of fruits; it is consequently one pf the very 
best kinds of manure for them, and it should be care¬ 
fully husbanded and used for this purpose. 
0 S3 p. ct. 
1.25 
p ct 
0.73 
11 
1.34 
rr 
0.18 
11 
0.88 
IT 
0.31 
11 
.1.14 
11 
8.17 
n 
1.56 
IT 
2.24 
i) 
8.02 
11 
0.06 
ii 
1.26 
17 
012 
ii 
1.02 
11 
1.34 
71 
8.10 
If 
4.54 
11 
1.97 
1' 
3.63 
1.38 
1> 
0.68 
11 
3.75 
n 
0,62 
11 
0.37 
n 
• 75 81 
11 
65.95 
it 
99.26 
97.99 
