GUANO. 



491 



scaUeroii along ttin drill, to appeiiranco almost 

 invisible, &till lliere will be iotiini no jinutical 

 difficulty ia the operation, anil, I liave no 

 doubt, i)crfect satisfaction in the rei^nlt. TIk; 



auantity reqnii'ed for any ordinary length of 

 rill is thus easily canieil in an apron, and is 

 much more niaiiiigi'ablc than if any admixture 

 had taken place. Thus, upon a length of i!()l) 

 yards, the tlrills being 27 inches apart, not 

 more than 1 1 lbs. will bo necessary, at the 

 above rate, so that one woman can easily ac- 

 complish .3 acres a day. The expense of the 

 operation is thus almo.st notViing, while it af- 

 fords great facility to increased expedition, at 

 BO important and ]irecarious a season, seeing 

 the success of the turnip c7-o[> requires the 

 operation of sowing to be limited to a very 

 short period of time. It will be noticed that 

 guano, to be properly adapted for being used 



in the maimer above recommonded, must l>o 

 of H consistency fitted for equal distriljution ; 

 and, in all c;ises, fannerw should particuhu'ly 

 observe, besides, that the analysis is favora- 

 ble, that the material ig. free fiom moisture, 

 and so coniposed, if containing lumps, that 

 these may be ca]>able of easy reduction by 

 pressure, or with the hammer. When guano 

 is so moist a.s to resist being again reduced to 

 powder, after having been conipressexl, or 

 the lumps already existing refuse to yield to 

 trituration, it is (juite unfitted for efficient 

 distribution, with a view to the growth of 

 tiniiips in tlie manner I have proposed ; and 

 by no jirocess of admixture; with other 

 bodies can it be rendered so suitable, but 

 could only hn applied, with any advantage, 

 as a top-dressing to green or other growing 

 crops. 



lu reference to the price, which, when practicable, should litlp to illustrate 

 all such discussions, the last " American Farmer " says of guano : 



We regi^et to learn that the dealers in this 

 article liave considerably increased the price 

 recently. J'eruvian had been selling at 

 $11 50 per ton, but is now $50. The cause 

 may have been j)roduced by the rise in the 

 price in England. From the Sheffield and 

 Rotherham Independent, of Feb. 27, received 

 by the Hibemia, we make the following 

 extract : 



" Corn Exchanges. — A good stroke of ba 

 .sine.ss has been done in the guano trade sinc« 

 our last, and the stock of the country having 

 been considerably reduced, piices, as foretold 

 a fortnight ago, have advanced. All (jualities 

 have risen h-om 20 to 30 shillings per ton, ex- 

 cepting; Saldanha Bay, which is quoted only 

 10 shillings per ton higher." 



By-the-by, we may notice that Mr. Naill, of the Senate of Maryland, vigilant 

 for the interests of his class, got a law passed at the last session for the inspec- 

 tion of guano. In England the farmer, in most cases, we believe, requires to be 

 furnished with a sample and a well-assured analysis from the merchant, and 

 comes down on him for damages if the mass is not found to correspond. We 

 have some doubts whether in all such things, even in the inspection of tobacco, 

 it would not be better for the producer if the article were left free to be regu- 

 lated by the conflicting interests of the two parties, untrammeled by legal fetters. 



While on this subject, truth and propriety suggest a remark on the powerful 

 agency sometimes exercised by public-spirited individuals in matters of public 

 concern, where they have no private ends to be answered. In regard to this 

 second attempt to introduce a knowledge of the wonderful properties of this sub- 

 stance to the notice of American agriculturists, if it had not been for the untiring 

 perseverance of Mr. George Law, of Baltimore, in this matter as in whatever 

 else he undertakes, availing himself of a correspondence as extensive as it is 

 valued by those who enjoy it, the use of guano would have made its way but 

 slowly, in all probability — if, in fact, it had not failed again now as it did when 

 the substance was exhibited and its virtues proclaimed so many years ago in 

 Maryland. 



Without any of the mere mercenary promptings of the monopolist or the 

 speculator, Mr. Law scattered much of it, far and wide, gratuitously, and insti- 

 gated most of the experiments that were made demonstrative of its qualities as 

 a manure at once the most condensed and, if not the most enduring, the quick- 

 est and the most convenient of application. 



We mention it on the principle that justice is due even in fuller measure, to 

 those who seek no recompense for useful actions but the gratification of their 

 own kind nature in the performance of them. Whv is it that by the Press, 



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