194 ON GUANO, AND ITS COMPARATIVE MERITS. 



wliicli the 10 cwt. of gaiano had been applied. Then came 

 the crop of wheat; for wheat was taken after the turnips. 

 When the wheat was g-rowing" where the 16 cwt. had been 

 appHed, the straw was dark coloured, the corn was small in 

 the ear, and when thrashed it was absolutely black. Where 

 8 cwt. had been applied the sample was a little better, al- 

 thoug'h the straw had a peculiar dark colour. Where 4 cwt. 

 had been applied the sample of wheat was beautiful, and that 

 wheat broug'ht into the market Gd. per busliel more than the 

 wheat taken from the land on which 8 cwt. had been placed, 

 and the wheat taken from the land where the 16 cwt. had 

 been applied could scarcely be sold at all. He mentioned 

 another case which had been brought under his notice ten 

 days ago, to show the effects of g-uano in promoting- the 

 growth of the crops. He then drew their attention to the 

 effects produced on the farm of Mr. Fleming-, of Renfrew- 

 shire, and g-ave the result of the money value of three crops, 

 g-rown in 1842, 1843, 1844, of turnips, oats, and rye, after the 

 application of g-uano. The crops where g-iiano was applied left 

 a profit, after paying- every expense for rent and interest on 

 the capital, of 30/. 16s. ; where farm-yard manure was ap- 

 plied, at the rate of 25 tons for turnips, there remained a 

 profit of 14/. \Qs., leaving- a difference in the profit in favour of 

 the g-rower, by the application of guano, of 16/. In the one 

 case 3 cwt. of g-uano was used, and in the other 25 tons of 

 dung-. The learned professor was here asked what value he 

 put on the manure, to which he replied 8/. 155.. He men- 

 tioned a few other cases of a similar kind, the result bein^ 

 that more profit was to be obtained from the use of half 

 farm-yard manure and half g-uano than when they used 

 farm-yard manure only, or when mixed with bones. The 

 question would hereafter be, whether they would look to the 

 after effects of g-uano, or whether they would not rather look 

 to its immediate effects, or whether they would not apply it in 

 smaller quantities from year to 5^ear, rather than larg-er quan- 

 tities every four years. He believed it would be found more 

 beneficial to apply it to each successiA'-e crop, to appl}^ it to 

 the seed, and then to apply a top-dressing- when the plants 

 made their appearance above the ground. After trj'ing- this 

 plan, he thoug-ht it would be the most profitable they could 

 adopt. 



In the course of his remarks, the learned professor alluded 

 to the following- table, which was placed over the chimney- 

 piece in larg-e characters : — 



