Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-06-12
STATE HOUSE.
of Nominations for
Office Rapidly Coming in.
Prot. c. D. Woods, on the Value Of
Bones as a Fertilizer.
Few Towns Have as Yet Sent in Their
Dog Tax.

Certificates of nomination of county
and legislative candidates are coming in
very rapidly just now. The Republic
can nominees in five of the counties
have already filed the certificates set
ting forth the fact that they have been
selected by their party associates for
various county offices. There have
also been filed The nomination papers of
% Republican candidates for the lower
House of the State legislature, and
others are expected very soon, as many
nominations nave been made up to
date. Only one Democratic candidate
has as yet filed his papers. Bion E.
Whitney of Bar Harbor, is candidate
for the House, and has sent in his
papers to that effect.
Prof. c. d. Woods of the Maine Agri-
cultural Experiment station, has the fol-
lowing to say concerning the fertilizins
value of bones:
Bones owe their fertiizing value to the
nitrogen and the phosphoric acid which
they contain. If bone is soaked for
long time in dilute muriatic acid, the
mineral portion is dissolved and a tough
pliable mass of the same shane of the
original bone is left. This is the organic
matter of the bone, composed chiefly of
ossein a heterogeneous material which by
long boiling is changed into glue or gela-
tine. This organic matter makes up from
one quarter to one third Of the weight OF
the bone. If 4 bone is thoroughly burned
in fire the organic matter is destroyed
and there is left the bone ash. Bone ash
is composed chiefly of phosphate of lime,
together with little carbonate of lime
and phosphate of magnesia. Row bone
has. in addition TO the mineral matter
and the ossein. more or less Of fats and
oils and some water.
When bone or bone ash is treated with
strong sulphuric acid. part OF the lime is
taken away from the bone phosphate of
lime and new compounds are found. One
Of these new compounds is phosphate
Of lime containing only one-third as
much lime as aid the original bone phos-
phute The rest nf the lime unites with
the acid and makes gypsum or land plas-
Ter. In practice. II sufficient acid werr
used 20 change all the bone phosphate
into acid phosphate. the resulting mass
would De too pasty and unmanags able
FOR making fertilizers When less acid is
added part ~ the bone phosphate Is
changed into the acid phosphate. and part
into still another compound which has
tWU-thifds a. much lime as the original
bone phosphate. The acid phosphate is
soluble "a water ana makes the water
soluble phosphoric acid 81 commercial
fertilizers. While the other phosphates is
not soluble In water. it Is readily avail
able To- plants. This is the so-called re-
vcrted' phosphoric acid. The water sol
uble and the reverted together make IN
the available phosphoric acid Of com
mercial fertilizers. The original phos-
phate Of lime becomes very slowly avail
able as plant food. while the acidu-
lated phosphate is speedily and complete
~ available. Most Of the acidIlated
phosphate used in the manufacture OF
| fertilizers Is not nbtainable directly from
bone but from bone ash and bone black
or from phosphate rocks. which occur
in South Carolina, Florida and other
Southern states. The acidulated phos-
phate from rocks is called dissolved
rock while that from bone ash is called
dissolved bone black While dissolved
bone black commands a higher price
| than dissolved rock. there is no evidence
| that the acid phosphate prepared from
| bone ash is superior as a fertilizer TO the
acid phosphate from rock. Bone ash
| which has not been acted upon by sui
phuric acid has comparatively little value
as fertilizer