BONES PHOSPHATES GUANO. 121 



fore coarser and colder fertilizers can be brought into 

 a condition of fitness for use ; but the general rule I 

 insist on is this : A good farmer will, in the course of 

 twenty or thirty years, make at least $10 worth of 

 fertilizers for every dollar's worth he buys from any 

 dealer, unless it be the sweepings or other excretions 

 of some not distant city. 



I have used Guano frequently, and, though it has 

 generally made its mark, I never yet felt sure that it 

 returned me a profit over its cost. Phosphates have 

 done better, especially where applied to Corn in the 

 hill, either at the time of planting or later ; yet my 

 strong impression is that Flour of Bone, applied 

 broadcast and freely, especially when Wheat or Oats 

 are sown on a field that is to be laid down to Grass, 

 pays better and more surely than anything else I 

 order from the City, Gypsum, and possibly Oyster- 

 Shell Lime, excepted. 



My experience can be no safe guide for others, 

 since it is not proved that the anterior condition and 

 needs of their soils are precisely like those of mine. 

 I apprehend that Guano has not had a fair trial on 

 my place that carelessness in pulverizing or in ap- 

 plication has caused it to " waste its sweetness on the 

 desert air," or that a drouth following its application 

 has prevented the due development of its virtues. 

 And still my impression that Guano is the brandy of 

 vegetation, supplying to plants stimulus rather than 

 nutrition, is so clear and strong that it may not easily 

 be effaced. It seems to me plainly absurd to send 

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