130 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



manure, and the greater the judgment which may have been 

 shown in its care and management, the leas will be the q\iautity 

 which need be applied to the land. The soil will also influeace 

 the farmer in respect to the quantity per acre. However 

 great the care and discretion shown, it seldom happens that the 

 farm-yard dun^ holds out for the entire breadth of turnips, and 

 consequently we always use it where it is most needed ; and 

 for this reason the swede; generally have the preference for 

 being a firmer and more nutritious root. They require more 

 nourishment, and for this purpose farm-yard dung is of very 

 great value. But whereas the manure from the farm-yard does 

 not prove suHicieut for the whole of the land, some other sup- 

 plemental manure has to be procured for the remainder. Now 

 manures are of two classes — those which act as food, and those 

 which also enable other matter to be taken up as food. In 

 farm-yard manure, which is a very compound substance, we 

 have both of these classes present, and in our imitation we 

 should also introduce both. For this reason we need the 

 assistance of guano, or some ammoniacal manure of the same 

 class, and by the addition of bone-earth or super-phosphate of 

 lime we supply all that the crop requires for its healthy growth- 

 It is theref)re desirable to use these or similar manures for 

 making-up any deficiency which may be found to exist in the 

 supply of yard-manure. 



The disposal of the farm-yard manure admits of another sug- 

 gestion ; for it is worthy of enquiry, whether or not it is desirable 

 to use all the manure from the yard by itself, and all the 

 artificials bi' themselves, or in what form they should be used. 

 For example, 50 acres of turnips are to be sown, and there is 

 Only sufficient manure for 30 acres, and the residue has to be 

 manured by purchased substitutes. Would it, or would it 

 not, be better to have a more general distribution of both natu- 

 ral and artificial manure ? Without now going into any ex- 

 planation of the reason why, it may be sofficient to state that 

 practical evidence invariably supports the use of the manures 

 mixed, in preference to either alone ; but still the swedes should 

 have the largest share of the dung. When good farm-yard 

 manure is freely employed the necessity for guano is very much 

 decreased, because the former has already added to the soil 

 the necessary ammoniacal manure ; not that the guano is un- 

 necessary, but less urgently required. With the superphos- 

 phate of lime the ca«e is quite diff'erent, for yard-manure is 

 generally deficient in this particular, and a moment's considera- 

 tion will make this manifest. Much of the value of the manure 

 depends upon the excrement of the animals kept on the farm, 

 nearly all of which rob their food very completely of the bony 

 matters therein contained to strengthen their skeletons : there 

 is therefore but a small proportion remaining iu the dung ; so 

 that, although the use of dung on a field lessens the need for 

 guano, it does not decrease the demand for superphosphate 

 of lime, but, on the other hand, actually increases it. This 

 may at first sight appear to be inconsistent and contrsiictory, 

 but it will bear looking into. One of the uses of the bony 

 matter of manure is to enter into vegetable growth again, and 

 give strength to our crops. A crop of 20 tons of swedes must 

 need more than another crop of 15 tons ; and if both are fully 

 developed, the former will have drawn more from the soil ; 

 hence, if we are giving duug to a field to produce 20 tons, we 

 ought to give our bane-manure with an equally liberal hand. 



It is a subject of frequent inquiry with farmers— Shall I buy 

 guano or superphosphate for my turnips? This is partly 

 answered above, but a few remarks may make their relative 

 value to be better understood. Tne first point is to remove 

 from the mind the very common notion that they can each do 

 the same work. True they can each encourage the growth of 

 the crop ; but this is a combined result, in which one manure 



takes one part, and the other mauure a different one. The 

 value of the bone-manure or superphosphate of lime is, to 

 supply materials which the crop needs, but which are preient 

 iu the soil only iu araall proportions. Guano supplies other 

 materials equally necessary, but which are more abundant in 

 the dung from our farm-yarJs. If there is enough dung for 

 the land there is less need for guano ; or if the duug is short 

 in quantity its place may be supplied by the use of guano. 

 These manures are therefore to a great extent substitutes for 

 each other ; but for the successful growth of turnips, both need 

 the addition of superphosphate. The answer to the above 

 inquiry is therefore simple. If the laud is poor, and no dung 

 available for it, give it guano or some similar ammoui*cal 

 manure ; but if the fi-lJ is iu good condition there will be less 

 need for it; but in either case the use of the superphosphate 

 will be beneficial. Another circumstance which iiifhiences the 

 use of farm-yard mauure or its substitute is, the distauce of 

 carriage, for it is manifest that economy will allot the most 

 portable manure for the more distant land. 



It may, however, be right, whilst noticing the manures used 

 for turnip crop?, to refer to the use of boues, which are so ex- 

 tensively employed in some parts of the country. The great 

 advantage claimed for the superphosphate of lime, which is 

 prepared from bone-earth, is the fact of being more readily 

 dissolved in water than the bone. This naturally induces 

 prompt and vigoroiis action on the part of the superphosphate, 

 whilst the bone acts slowly. The practice of different districts 

 shows the use of bone, ia prefereuce to superphosphate, to be 

 chiefly confined to the sandy soils; for here, in consequeacc of 

 being so readily washed by rain, the solu'jle superphosphate is 

 soon lost, whilst, as the bone decays slowly, it is valuable for 

 several successive crops. The addition of a small quantity of 

 superphosphate of lime has been found useful in giving nourish • 

 ment to the young crop until the bone-earth has come into 

 service. 



We cannot, however, leave this subject without referring to 

 the well-known fact that there is at the present time a vast 

 amount of trickery and deception practised by some unprinci- 

 pled dealers in the manure trade, and that the adulterations 

 are carried out to an incredible extent, far beyond what pur- 

 chasers generally imagine, and that these fraudulent practices 

 are carried out with great skill and ingenuity. Those who 

 have most to do with the examination of such manures have 

 the fullest possible proof of the enormity of the evil. It was 

 only on May l/th that we reported iu the Afark Lane Express 

 the communications received by the Council of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society, from Dr. Voelcker, in which he brought uuder 

 their notice spurious guanos, worth 633. and 80s. per ton, sell- 

 ing as best Peruvian, probably from £12 to £11 per ton, 

 according as the dealers wished to throw a tempting bait, or to 

 stand out for the price of the genuine article. We refer our 

 readers to this communication again because of its great im- 

 portance. It is hard enough for farmers to have to pay such 

 heavy prices for their guano ; but after this sacrifice, to find 

 that the purchased article will scarcely pay the expenses of 

 carria^^e, this is indeed a severe aggravation of the evil. There 

 is a remedy, and if not used we have only ourselves to thank. 

 Send a sample for examination before you purchase; this will 

 cost 5s. ; send another sample of the manure received — and 

 this will cost another 5s.— and you will then know what you 

 purciKne and what you receive, and thereby you will protect 

 yourselves agaiust fraud and imposition. It is a serious evil 

 to the agricultural community, but it only needs a simultaneous 

 action throughout the country. Amongst the manure mer- 

 chants there are numbers of ho lourable men, who not only do 

 not shrink from the exaiiiiiation, hue are desirous for it, 

 because they will then be rocoguised as they merit ; and as to 

 the others, the sooner they are known the better for the agri- 

 cultural public. 



