AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 313 



trenching the eaath two feet deep and reversing the soil — that from that 

 depth below the surface being free from weed seeds and worms. If neces- 

 sary, enrich the ground with liquid manure. He says the idea occurred to 

 him from seeing how well these plants grew upon dirt thrown out of a well. 



LIQUID MANURE. 



The allusion to liquid manure started a little discussion upon this sub- 

 ject, which was talked upon at the last meeting. 



John G. Bergen. — I still contend that all manures cannot be applied in 

 a liquid state to advantage. 



Prof. Nash. — The cost of transferring manure from the barn to the crops, 

 is the cost of fuel and interest on the cost of appliances to send the liquid 

 to the field, and that is not over three mills per ton. There is no necessity 

 of using coarse manure on land well underdrained. All weed seeds are 

 dissolved in the vats of liquid manure, and by the use of lime and acids. 

 Mr. Mechi told me he could dissolve a whole wagon load of dead horses in 

 a few days. 



AMERICAN GUANO. 



Solon Robinson read a letter of inquiry about the value of * 'American 

 Guano," that is, the guano from Baker's and Jarvis' Islands. The farmers 

 upon Long Island are anxious to know what it is worth as a fertilizer. 



Adrian Bergen thought this as good as any other guano that he had tried. 



Mr. Doughty, of New Jersey. — I tried this guano on a crop of carrots 

 against stable manure, and found the guano equal in all respects to the 

 manure. I cannot tell the rate per acre at which I used it. 



John G. Bergen. — We have, sometimes, found great benefit in the use 

 of Peruvian guano, on Long Island, and at other times we have not been 

 able to perceive the least benefit. Perhaps it is because the quality 

 varies. 



Prof. Nash. — The farmer wants to know what the fertilizer is worth. 

 The value of this American guano is based upon eighty per cent of insolu- 

 ble phosphates. Now, what is bone phosphate worth to the farmer for 

 some particular crop ? 



Andrew S. Fuller. — I tried this guano and several other phosphatic ap- 

 pliances, and found no difference, but come to the conclusion that I would 

 not give a cent for any of them. I had rather have a whole bone than any 

 superphosphate, and, if broken, it is, of course, still better. But the best 

 crop was obtained upon deeply tilled land, without manure, alongside of 

 the same kind of plants dressed with American guano. 



GREEN SAND MARL. 



Prof. Nash. — There is no ton of manure equal to Peruvian guano, but 

 we have a fertilizer worth twice as much, according to its cost, and that is 

 the green sand marl of New Jersey. It affords food for plants and adds 

 permanent value to the soil. One man using it, at a cost of fifteen cents a 

 bushel, thought others foolish who neglect its use at that cost. He grew 



