216 Manuring Grass Lands. 



part of June. I have, for nearly twenty years, inspected aniF- 

 reported to the society the merits of the different claimants. 

 Guano lias been liberally used by most of them, and some- 

 times with a damaging effect. The district spoken of, lying 

 north, south, and south-east of Liverpool, is as well farmed as 

 any part of England or Scotland; and there is spirited compe- 

 tition for the class of premiums just alluded to : seeds to the 

 value of from 255. to 305. are sown to the acre, consisting of the 

 clovers, rib-grass, trefoils, poas, fescues, and some other grasses, 

 about eight to ten varieties ; sowing thickly having considerable 

 effect in obtaining a good turf at once. Three to four hundred- 

 weight of the best Peruvian guano is sown to the acre by hand on 

 the young seeds in January or February, taking care to select a 

 ■wet time for the sowing. One competitor, thinking to gain some 

 advantage, after sowing the usual top-dressing repeated another of 

 the same weight. The second dressing was given at midnight, in 

 order to keep to himself the chance to be obtained in that way.. 

 I inspected the different pastures in the first week of June, 1856:. 

 that which had been twice dresssed with guano was decidedly of 

 the greatest bulk, estimated to make 3 tons of hay to the acre ;. 

 the I'ye-grass was very long, and much laid down and damaged 

 in the bottom ; there was not much clover to be seen, nor cow- 

 grass, nor trefoil, and nearly all the finer grasses had been, 

 smothered by the great length and over luxuriance of the rye- 

 grass. Six cwt. of the best guano, or even more, may be applied 

 at one dressing for pasture, particularly for sheep, taking care 

 not to allow the pasture to become too long, but to have it eaten 

 well down. 



Guano is much adulterated when in the hands of some 

 dealers ; and I have heard it asserted that earthy material is 

 frequently put into a ship's bottom for ballast when going for a 

 cargo of guano ; that the guano is loaded on the ballast, and of 

 course brought to this country and discharged with the guano. 

 How far this is fact or not I cannot undertake to say ; but in 

 order to avoid fraud, a number of farmers have made joint pur- 

 chase of 30 tons on shipboard, and from thence it has been removed 

 direct to our individual establishments, and still we have occa- 

 sionally found stones and other objectionable material in it. Not- 

 withstanding that fact, the safest way for farmers is to make 

 their purchases of guano on board the importers' ships. 



Marling. — Marling now is not generally attended to for the 

 improvement of grass lands ; it is, however a lasting help to 

 most soils, except the more tenacious kinds. Even to these 

 a dressing of marl is advantageous. Good marl often lies 

 some few feet below the surface : it will' effervesce with an. 

 acid when exposed to the atmosphere. In frost it soon falls,, 



