134 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



COMPARISON OF GUANO WITH OTHER MANURES. 



BY DAVID BARCLAY, M. P. 



To W. Mii.ES, Esq. M. P. 



Ml/ Dear Sir : The verj- extensive use of 

 Guano as a manure, and the prospect of very 

 large supplies from Peru and the West Coast of 

 Africa, induced you to recommend to the Coun- 

 cil of our Society that some of its members 

 should undertake to test the relative value of the 

 different kinds, including Potter's artificial Gua- 

 no, as compared with farm-j-ard manure ; and 

 Humphrey's compound was subsequently pro- 

 posed to be tried at the same time. I under- 

 took, for one, to make these experiments. We 

 were instructed to sow Skirving's Swede, and 

 to apply 20 tons of farm-yard dung to the acre, 

 3 cvvt. of Guano, and such quantities of Potter's 

 Guano and Humpln-ey's compound as the pro- 

 prietors might desire. 



The land which I selected for making these 

 experiments is a light, flinty loam, of unifonu 

 quality, with a chalk subsoil. Long strips of an 

 acre each were measured with exactness, and 

 admitted of 16 rows of plants in each strip, at 

 the distance of 26 inches between the ridges. 

 Four acres were drilled on the 22d of June ; 

 the fifth acre, with Humphrey's compound, was 

 delayed for want of seed till the 26th. Instead, 

 however, of 20 tons of dung, as proposed, only 

 12 tons were applied ; of the African and Peru- 

 vian Guano, and of Humphrey's compound, 3 

 cwt. each ; and of Potter's artificial Guano 4 

 cwt. by his desire : all were mixed with 9 cwt. 

 of ashes, and drilled in vv'ith the seed on the 

 Scotch system. The 5 acres were twice hoed. 

 About the middle of January, 1845, 2 entire 



rows out of tlie 16 in each strip were raised, 

 trimmed, and weighed, and the weights, multi- 

 plied by S, must have given the weight per acre 

 with accuracy, as, owing to the great length of 

 the rows, no material departure from exact re- 

 sults could take place. The following table 

 will show the cost of each manure, the produce 

 per acre, the value estimated at 15s. per ton, 

 also the cost of each manure, and its application 

 per ton of roots. 



The long drought which we experienced will 

 account for the small produce per acre, and may 

 possibly have exercised a greater influence on 

 one description of manure than on another; I 

 cannot, therefore, consider my experiments so 

 decisive of the relative value of the manures as 

 if the season had been more propitious : but 

 should the trials undertaken by others corres- 

 pond in their results with mme, information will 

 be elicited which may be useful to the agricul- 

 tural bodj'. It was remarked that the drought 

 appeared to have the most influence on the acre 

 manured ^vith dung, turning the leaves more 

 yellow than on the other strips dressed with 

 Guano ; and until the weights convinced us of 

 our mistake, we were under a strong impression 

 tliat the guanos had beaten the dung. There 

 remains for us to learn the value of these ma- 

 nures upon the succeeding crop of barlej, for 

 which purpose the 5 acres will be carefully dis- 

 tinguished, and the produce of each accurately 

 measured. i remain, sir, yours, <fcc. &c., 



"DAVID BARCLAY. 



Easttoick, Febniary 12, 1845. 



Account of E.xperiments as to the relative Value of Farm-yard Manure, African Guano, 

 Peruvian Guano, Potter's Guano, and Humphrey's Farmers' Compound, coiiiucted on East- 

 wick Farm, in the County of Surrey. 



(2!)0) 



