Cane Soils and Artificial Manures. 293 
can be bought at a much cheaper rate than soluble phos- 
phate, but has hitherto been considered to be of little 
value as manure ; recent experiments, however, that have 
been carried out by Mr. JAMIESON in Aberdeenshire and 
elsewhere, tend to show that this conclusion has been 
arrived at too hastily. When properly prepared ordinary 
phosphate of lime was tried against soluble phosphate 
on root crops, hardly any difference in the results was 
obtained. Indeed, Mr. JAMIESON claims with full con- 
fidence to have determined the effect of insoluble phos- 
phate, in more finely divided form than simple grinding 
accomplishes (i. e. steamed bone-flour and precipitated 
phosphate), as equivalent, or superior, to the effect of 
soluble phosphate. Even mineral phosphate, which is 
usually regarded as valueless until treated with sulphuric 
acid, has been found to exert an effect but little inferior 
to super-phosphate, when it has been reduced to an im- 
palpable powder by mechanical means. From its insoliu 
ble nature, however, mineral phosphate is somewhat 
backward in its action ; but by mixing it with animal 
phosphate, in the form of steamed bone-flour, results were 
obtained equal to those given by soluble phosphate, at 
but little more than half the cost. 
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