^l)C iTarmci's iHontl]li) lUsitor. 



fourlli of M inile, lire iIir rffice ntul caparious 

 biiildiriir.s of a secoiiil family: and fiirllicr fjnii] 

 this, about llie sanie ilistalice, is tliK tliiriJ family. 

 Tin; lii^li land ;.'radiially falls off to llic iioilii, 

 vvlicie at tin; distance of about Ijall' a mile are 

 two extensive muck meadows, llirouijji w lii<li 

 the stieaiti which carried their former |rriiu'i[)al 

 mills and machinery, meandered as one of the 

 heads of the Soucook, which discharges itsell 

 into the Merrimack after fallini; several hundred 

 feet, on the sotilh line (if Concoril jnsl helow 

 Garven's Kails. This .stream has heeii nearly 

 abandoned for it.s water power since tlie very 

 valuable ami more permanent sources of water 

 power have been created in the \alley til the 

 Konlh. Th(! nmck meadows ilraineil are Uiund 

 lo he not only rieii for the purposes cjf cultiva- 

 tion, hut the material al the hollorn as the means 

 of compostiu,;; is proved to he nearly or qifite as 

 valuable as tin' best stable maiune. With some 

 fifty lo a hundre<l workiii;.' lio;;s, the first I'amily 

 make of this meadow peat a mamire for their 

 cultivated fields and lueadosv grounds that in- 

 creases mi^dilily the vegeUihle p'rodnetimi of their 

 farms. Instead of straw their swine are bedded 

 ill saw dust, and the same material is used in 

 their cattle and horse stables, liein;.' an e.vcellent 

 article liir preserviiifj the ammonia till it is incor- 

 porated into thedum; pile. 



In the h)W meadow recently diuiiiied, wlios« 

 soil to the (h'ptli of several feet is a black rich 

 vei;etabU mould, there were ^^rowinj; last sum- 

 mer several ai-res of corn and potatoes. The 

 irround until lightened seems to be too cold for 

 Indian com ; but potatoes and turnips grew and 

 thrived upon it liixurihnlly. Abundance of small 

 rocks might hi: taken from the adjacent higher 

 groninis, and disposed in blind drains that shall 

 carry oft' the water from the cold springs feeding 

 the meadow on the outside, when it maybe made 

 forever fertile lor the farmer's purposes. It .so 

 happens that perhaps half the farms in Xew 

 Hampshire .•uv^ fiirnislied with bog meadows rich 

 in the material liir uiaking compost manme, that 

 may be converted into an easy fertility securing 

 the largest grain, root ami hay crops. 



Among itie persevering, hard-handed men, the 

 most of whom fiave extended to an age beyfuid 

 three-score and ten years, and who in the course 

 of fifty years have made of the Ciinlerbiiry Sha- 

 kers families the most opulent anil independent 

 in wealth and means of any in the interior coun- 

 try, vve might iiariit: John Wadleigb, now in his 

 89lh year, a soldier of the revoluiioii engaged at 

 Bunker Hill, and a militia man under five differ- 

 ent enlistments. There were several soldiers of 

 the revolution in the ("anlerbury families— not 

 one of them ever took the pension ofli-red by the 

 law of Congress. Mr. Wiidleigh s.iid he coveteil 

 no man's silver and gold. Small in stature, be- 

 ing not over fi\e lijel two inches in height, the 

 amoimt of hard Held labor done by this gentle- 

 man would seem lo be almost incredible. Al 

 the nge of near nineiy years in the new meailow 

 ground hestenled himsell' with taking the (diargi' 

 of the corn and potato held of Beverid acres dur- 

 ing the last summer, lie amused liimsi'lf lately 

 with coiisirneliui' the model of a ploui:li on the 

 philosophical principle of making the resislance 

 every where ctpial. I'rom the appearance of 

 this model vve cannot iloubt that llie pattern in 

 itself would he much superior to iiiimy ploughs 

 that have been p.itented. The late Thom:is and 

 Benjamin \V.idlei;;li ofSulloii, N. II. were bnilli- 

 ersof .lolrn Wadleigb, uho nulled himself with 

 the Canterbury family in 17!*^. A man of mind 

 more purely (;tlieiial and inofiensive — an ai;i:d 

 man of more chcci fulne.-s, amiability and child- 

 like simplicity probably does not live in America. 



of manure ; for there is swamp mud. or riiiiek, 

 upon almost every (arm, and a sulVicieni ipuinlity 



sma 



vvhii-h, with a small portion of cow and horse ma- 

 nure, affords together an ample supply. It U an 

 old error to suppose that no manure but stable 

 alone, is ailapted to cause production and abnn- 

 dant crops. Upon a purely ilecomposed vegeta- 

 ble soil, perhaps the very best application would 

 be sand, pure sand ; and lime seems necessary to 

 the growth of all the varieties of the vegelahle 

 kingdom. A compost nianure, I have remarked, 

 almost always succeeds the best; and this is per- 

 haps owing to the fact that fi-w of ns liirmers are 

 chemists, and do not know exactly what il is that 

 is lacking in our soils, so tli.-it in puttinu' on or 

 a|iplying a compost, it happens to eonlain lh<! es- 

 sential ingredient fiir the production of a crop. 



I have practised a mode .a little different Iroin 

 that menlioned by the editor of the Visitor in ma- 

 king manure, which, as it has bi;en one of coii- 

 venieiice, I will mention. In the middle of my 

 barn-yard I place about eighteen inches of sods, 

 turf or swamp mould. I'lion ihis I plai-e the ma- 

 nure fiom the stable, from day lo day, and in wet 

 weather throw on the cleanings-up of the yard, 

 until the deplli of the manure is equal to the bot- 

 tom layer. 'J'hen another layer of sod, &c. is 

 added ^ and this alternate mode is continued un- 

 til it lias reached ail incoiivenienl lieiglit, for the 

 carl or wheel-barrow. ] then euibraee the first 

 rainy or leisure day, when other work cannot well 

 be dune, to remove llie heap from the liaru-yard, 

 and coinmeuce .another pile. The removal mix- 

 es the whole together, and in three or four weeks 

 the whole is tine, and fit fiir top dressing or for 

 drill cro|.s. In the use of lime the best effects 

 have resulted by applying it iinmedi.-ilely after 

 slacking, while it is a eauslic. With corn,l have 

 applied it upon the hill al the first hoeing : with 

 potatoes, when they were planted ; — in both ca- 

 ses in small quantities ; anil this with every crop. 

 Upon clayey soils it acts wonderfully, and the 

 greatest advantage results, where wood ashes is 

 used, to add quick lime. This is the reason why 

 the spent ashes fi-om the soap boilers act so well ; 

 they are mixed with lime. J. S. 



the Falkland Islands, viz. — the Kin?, the Maca- 

 roni, the Jacl.ass, and the Kookcry penguin ; but 

 the most rein.'irkabie bird fiiund on Ihosi.' shores, 

 is the penguin's iiilimale associate and most par- 

 ticular liiend. the An).ilros.s. 



When a suliicieiit number of penguins, alba- 

 trosses, &c., are assembled on the shore, .and a 

 deliberate consultation on the subject has been 

 held, lliey proceed to the execution of the grand 

 purpose for which they left their fiivorite element. 

 In the first place they select !i level piece of 

 ground, often comprisiiig an extent of'fiiiir or five 

 acres, as near the water as practicable, always 

 preferring that which is least encumbered wilh 

 stones. 



,\s soon as they are sallstied on this point, Ihey 

 proceed 10 lay out their plan, which they com- 

 inence by tracing a well-defined parallelogram, 

 of sutiicietil magniluile lo accommod.ite the whole 

 (i.'iierniiy. One side of this square inns parallel 

 with the water's ed:;e, ani1isaiwa\s lelt open ; 

 the other three sides are ililli-reiilly arranged. 



These indiislrions fealliered laborers next pro- 

 ceed lo clear all the ground wiihin the square 

 fioin obstruclious of every kind, picking iq- the 

 stones in their bills, and carefully depositing them 

 outside of the lines before menlioned, niilil Ihey 

 sometimes create a little wall on three sides of 

 the rookery ; within this range of stones and rub- 

 bish they form a pathway, quite smooih, six or 



eight li-et in widlh. This is for a L'enera' 



proin- 



Tor lllL* I-'armi-'r'i* Montlily Visitor. 

 niuuurcs. 

 Too great attention cannot be given lo the sub- 

 ject of manure, lor upon it entirely depends the 

 crop upon all lands that have been lonir uiiiler 

 oullivalion. As oni- of your readers liir years 

 past, I have always paid ailention to tin' articles 

 in the Visitor ii|iou Ihis siilijei-t, and am inidined 

 to the opinion llial I have realized a hundred lidd 

 the small annual cost ol'llie paper, so thai all ihe 

 other valuable topics have been so much in addi- 

 tion. The mode practised by the editor of the 

 Vbitor, as staled in the last December number, 

 is one within tin; reach of almost every owner, 

 large and sinall, and opens ;in inexhaustible store 



The Natural History of Guano. 



The trade ill guano,which has been lately open- 

 ed lo the coast of Africa, has not only rai^^d high 

 hopes as to its beneficial effects in iinproviug ag- 

 riculture, by .-ifrordins an abimilaiice of the rich- 

 est manure, but on the commerce, and especially 

 on the shipping interests of the comilry, il has 

 already occasioned considerable improvement. 

 Every thing relating to it, is therefijie, a m.alter 

 of iuiporlance, and even the natural history of the 

 iirlicle is soinethiug more than a mere matter of 

 curiosity. Its name, it would appear, is of Peru- 

 vian derivation, and had been called, in the lan- 

 guage of Ihe natives, Huano, sigtiilying dung or 

 manure ; the Spaniards now name it (luatio or 

 (Ituiitnr. 



'J'lie aborigines on the coast of Pern seem to 

 have used guano fiom time iiiiineniorial as ma- 

 nure ; and at the lime of the Kiiropeau discovery 

 of llie country, strict laws had been enacted by 

 tlie lucas, to guard the islands in which it is found, 

 and to punish with death even, those who killed 

 the sea-fowls from which it was derived. iMucli 

 doubt was entertained fiir some time alter being 

 brought lo this country, wilh regard to the origin 

 of ;;nario; ihe Spaniards early queslinned that 

 which seemed to have been clear to the inlaibi- 

 taiils of Peru ; lint chemical examination, and 

 oilKM' evidence, leave it no longer undetermined, 

 ihiit the enormous accumulations of ibis matter 

 on sea islands, in various loealilies, are noihing 

 II ore than the droppings of the myriads of fi)wls 

 ^^ llicli inhabit lliem liir the purposes of i est and 

 iicubation. 



Moirell has termed such associalinus of sea- 

 liiwl,'' Rookeries," which is the coinmou iippel- 

 lalioii given to them by the Soulh ."^ea navigators. 

 His description of one of the Falkland i.-laiids is 

 very graphic, and as it is inslrnctive, it is here, in 

 siibsliince, introdticefl. Those i>lands extend 

 north and south fiom latilnde .W ileg. 58 mill, to 

 .W deg. Ill mill. S., and east and v\esi I'roin long, 

 ."i/ deg. '.Vi mill, to (il (leg. 1:2!) miii. W. The fea- 

 thered tribes, he remarks, arc very numerous on 

 the lonely isles in the southern hemisphere, both 

 ill the South Seas and in iheSiailh .\tlanlic Ocean. 

 Of penguins llieie jire four kinds which resort to' 



eiiade by day. and (or the seiiliiiels to patrol by 

 night. The whole area is then laid out in little 

 squares <A' equal sizes, formed by narrow paths, 

 which cross each otherat right-angles, and which 

 are also made very smooth ; al each intersection 

 of these paths an albatross conslriicts her nest, 

 while in the centre of each Mule square is a pen- 

 guin's nest, so that each iilb.iiross is surrounded 

 by fiiiir penuuins. In Ihis regular maniu'r the 

 whole area is occupied by these feathered soioiirn- 

 tff of different species, liaving at convenient dis- 

 tances, acconimodalions /or other kinds of ocean- 

 ic birds, such <as ihe shag, or green cormorani 

 and another which seamen call the nelly. 



The penguin's nest is merely a slight excava- 

 tion in the earth, just deep enough to pieveui tin 

 egg rolling from its primitive position, while the 

 albatross throws up a little mound of e.irlli, gras,--, 

 and shells, eight or leu inches high, and about the 

 size of a waler-huckei, on the summit of which 

 she tin'ms her nest. 



None of the nests in these rookeries iire ever 

 left unoccupied lor a single momeui, until the 

 eggs are halched and the young ones old enough 

 to take care of themselves; male and female al- 

 ternately relie\iiig one another when in search 

 of food. By this precaution they prevent their 

 eggs being stolen by llie other birds, which would 

 he the case if left exposed, but which, neverthe- 

 less, must be often dime, lor it fi-eqneiilly hap- 

 pens that when the |ieriod (d' i cubalion is ter- 

 iniiialed, ihe yount: brood will consist of three or 

 four dili'erent kinds of birds in one nest. 



'j'o sl.ind al a disiauce and observe the move- 

 ments of the birds in these rookeries is not only 

 amusing hut edilying, and even affecting. 'I'lie 

 camp appears in I'ontiiiual iiioiion, all appear en- 

 gaged in seeking pleasure, refieshmeni »r recre- 

 alioii ; at the same time the air is almost darken- 

 ed by an iminense tuimber of albatrosses:inil oth- 

 er birds hovering over the rookery like a dense 

 cloud, some continually lighting and meeliiig 

 tin ir companions, while nlliers are coniiniially 

 rising and shaping their course for the seu^ 



Sea-fo«l in incalculable flocks are oliserved to 

 coiii;regate for simil;ir purposes everywhere, on 

 llie desolate and ciaggv shores and islands of holli 

 the .Allantic and Pacific Oceans; and allliough 

 the same species of birds are met with in many 

 different latitudes, whose food is alike, and wlio.se 

 droppings can vary liille in chemicid eharacler, 

 whether this relates lo their solubility, fluidity or 

 solidity, yet, as liir as it has been disco\ered, (here 

 seem only very few situations wficre matter re- 

 semhlmg gnano, in a'ly quantity, is fiuind. The 

 rocky islands and shores on llie .\orllierii and 

 Western coast of Scotland, although they liavu 

 been no doubt frequented (iir thousirtiils of yeais 

 by birds in countless numbers, yel arc really 



kno« u not to ha\ ly such deposiie upon ihem ; 



neilher does il exist on the lonely islands ill the 

 (iiilf of St. Lawrence, nor on the rocky shores 

 of .N'orlli .America, in higher latitudes, to which 

 also vast ffocks of sPa-fo«l mijji.'ite every seas,':, 



