w w sgp n v^- ' - ' "^iv j^i ' ci.aL P i B rJi^iWK B iira ' j ' ^v r v rrn v s m i 



^1)C larnicr's illantlilii bisitor. 



ti) ri-.ir llieir yninig in lii'iiricd fi-ciiiity) ainiilst iiii 

 iihiriid.ilit s|j|i|il_v ol' looil, niiil vvlierc; vessel-lnnils 

 ot' iheir e^'^'s me colleriiMl by visiler.*, I>y whom 

 no ri'porl lui.'- lis ji-t t;vi:P' liccii tiitidi; of llie ex- 

 istfiK'L' ol' j,'iiiiiio. It imist l)e iiilepTcd, li'nrn tlie 

 jiciiK^ imhI sc:iicliiii^' tidi'Mt wliich jMoircIl sliows 

 I'ur oli.scrv.ilioii, ll);it In; uould iiol liiivi' :illoWL-d 

 tlie ocfdiriMicn ot'jriKiiio on the F.illihnid Islands, 

 or on otiieiv (rrinally tliu resort of sc,i-|invl, to 

 havi' csi-aiu'd Inni, had it oxisttul. He wonhl have 

 recordril tin; fact irj his description of llie Sooth 

 Sea roolu-rii's, anil his lar-seein^' eye «onhl not 

 liuve liiiled to discover in nio{jnlains of this snii- 

 staiiei', nionnmetits ot' |Modnclioii, which, if not 

 ol' a vi;ry pnre iiaiinv, yel lui: of more leal im- 

 liortanee to mankinil than wliat is so often iecr)rd- 

 cd in the annals of otiiin" hi|ii'il repidilics of liii^h- 

 er iiitelli^'ence, hot of mnch less anliijnity. I( is 

 ohvioiis. lliin'id'ore, that peculiar <"anses e.\ist for 

 the acenniidalioi! anil pr>-s<.'rvation of the diin^r 

 of tliose hirils, in sncii enormous lieils as (rover 

 some islands on the coast of Pern, Jioiivia, and 

 Africa ; anil we are not to look for these causes 

 alone in the mere temperature of their climale. 

 ftlaiiy rocky ishnids and precipitoiis shores with- 

 in the tropics, in full possession of tlie feathered 

 tribes of the ocean, may have thus at least one 

 physical cause existinj; without any siieli accii- 

 niulalion, and this could scarcely occur without 

 beiii}; noted liy the pryiuj: eye of man. In sncli 

 climates, the heavy periodical rains, imconnie]-- 

 acled hy other agency, iinist dissolve every ihiiii: 

 which is soluble of whatever is deposited on the 

 siirtiiee of the earth, and what is not so di-solveit 

 would be otherwise in all likelihood washed 

 away ; the same must occur in temperate and 

 collier climates, where the coui'la^it alternations 

 of wi.'tness and dryness, and of heat and cold, 

 must ra|jidly efl'ect a thoion>:h decojnposilion, and 

 facilitati; ^'rcatly tlie disaj-pearance of all such 

 inatlcrs. 



If we lake a .survey of the localities iii which 

 f,'uano has hitherto been found in larye ipiantiiies, 

 we shall find causes in operation which will ac- 

 count for its aceiiinnlalion. 



The sealM):uil of Peru and Bolivia, from 3 de^'. 

 to i>-i (leg. south latitmle, a .space of about 1,480 

 miles ill a direct line, is i;enerally of a lij;ht sandy 

 soil, never refreshed by ji drop" of rain, and al- 

 tlioiij;h the dews are heavy, rhey si'eni of little 

 eonseipience to vc;;etatiou. On this coast are the 

 nmnerons islands upon which take place the laiiie 

 rle|)i)>ils of fTuano : on the islands of Chincha and 

 Pacqiiica, according' to nood anihority, the beds 

 are of i;real depth .and the quality exceediiiL'ly 

 ;;ood, but from the coast of Chili, where rain fre- 

 tpienily fills, the unano is inferior. Morrell, who 

 seems to li.ave vis teil most of those islands on ihe 

 coast of Peru, makes mention of two islands 

 named [,obiis .M'nero, and Lobos de Terra ; anil 

 the laliir is in latilude (i ile^'. 34 min. S., and lon- 

 gitude SO de^. 4.5 mill. W., and has a safe and 

 eonvenient harbor on Ihe north side, " lliey are 

 covered," says he, '■with the ilnnii' of acipiatic 

 birds, suflicient to load thousands of ships, haviiij; 

 been aceuniulatiiifr for imlold afies. Jt is calli-il 

 irucinar by the Spaniards. ami is probably ihe rich- 

 est manure in the world."' 



If we now liirii to the coast of Africa, we shall 

 (iml bom the same aullior, that Ichaboe Island is 

 covered to the depth of twenty-five feet with gua- 

 no, iind is within om; iriile and a half from the 

 main, and forty-one miles lo the iinrlhwaid of 

 IV-.->sessioii Island, which is in latitude 2G dei.'. '>7 

 iTTu. S., lon^'iiiide I.") de;;. S mi:i. E. 



'I'he sonlh and west coast, from alnnit latitude | 

 l(j ileg. to '27 lie;;, south, is a dreary sandy waste, 

 ;:eneially destitute of water. The desert in the 

 uei.uhborliood of .\ii;:ra Pcijuina extends into the 

 interior about forty miles, which beinj: traversed, 

 u country is reached, inhabited by an inofj'ensive 

 mill civil race of Hottentots, possessini;, as you 

 advance farther, innumerable flocks of c.-ittle, 

 where the land becomes tine and feriiie. 



About 800 miles of the sea-roast, Morrell savs, 

 runiiinf,' north-west and south-east, almost every 

 mile of u liich was examined by him, presents ii 

 raii^e of sandy deserts, upon an aveiajie nearly 

 forty miles in breadth. Durintr ten nioiitlis of the 

 year here, there i^ scarcely a drop of rain, and for 

 the other two months very little lulls. The at- 

 mosphere is pure, warm and dry, to such a de- 

 firee, that a quarter of fresh beef, weighinj: two 

 limidred wei^'ht, h.ingin;: in the rigging, will be- 



come per(in-tly dry. without being tainted in the 

 slightest degiee, even to the bone. 



Thus, to nil appearances, there are identical 

 agencies existing on the coast of Peru and Alii 

 ca, where guano is foimil of such superior ipiali 

 ty and in such wonderful abimdaiice. 



l''or the dejiosuion and ai'cumulatiiiu, then, of 

 guano, in any particular locality, it is essential 

 that tlieri! should be a sea-eoast on uliicli there 

 are iiumerons isolated rocky silnatimis, where 

 sea-fowl may collect iinniolistcd to hatch their 

 young, and seas in the vicinity supplying .ibiiii- 

 dance of food ; warmth of climale, little or in 

 rain, and a perpetually dry atmosphere. I'lider 

 a terrestrial ;ind atmospherical conibinalion of 

 this soil. Or. M. Haniihon calculates that a mill- 

 ion of birds will prmlnce (ilieeii tons of guano 

 daily, subject lo no fnrlher loss from evaporation. 

 No mean ipiantity wonhl thus in a very few years 

 be aceiimnlated In liivoriible situations, , -11111 many 

 such, it is reasonable to suppose, are to be found 

 III both hemispliere.s. 



We can foresee that the stimulus given by the 

 success which has already altended the voyages 

 for .African guano, and the idea that the supplies 

 will soon be exliansteil, both on the coast of Peru 

 and .Africa, must naturally lead to the exploiatiou 

 of new re:.'ioiis, liir an article apparently every 

 year growing more and more in request. It will, 

 however, only be by looking to those topograph- 

 ical bearings referied to, that anyone can expect 

 to make fresh discoveries of deposits of thissiib- 

 stiince to an extent which will make them an ob- 

 ject of commercial enterfirise, or of a quality 

 which will realize the hopes of the farmer. — Dr. 

 JacLion on Guano. 



For the F.iriiier's Monthly Visitor, 

 Without Dtiiiders. 



Since some contributor to the Visitor |)ointi'd 

 out the advantages of dispensing with blinders 

 upon biiilles, I have notiei.'il a considerable mim- 

 ber of hors<:s in carriages .villi their eyun W^ni 

 from this incumbrance. They appeared a little 

 singular and naked, but did not, that I noticed, 

 shy at all; and J am inclined to the opinion that 

 in this matter the Germans are right, and no 

 people manage or treat their horses better. From 

 some expeiiem-e in horses, 1 sliouhl think it best 

 not to trust a horse at once that has been accus- 

 tomed to blinders, as he would be apt to take 

 fright if at all skittish : but liir colts I would pre- 

 ler that they should see, and ol^ce so broken to 

 Ihe harness, no blinders would ever be required. 

 A considerable number of horses are apt lo be 

 scared when they see the top of a cari-iage in 

 motion, as if it were about 10 fjill upon iheiii; 

 and this occurs otdy in those horses used to 

 blinders. If the bridle has been lengthened in 

 the headstall i'nr a larger horse, when the rein is 

 pulled il opens so that he is enabled to see 

 through under it, iinil is then very apt to run 

 jiway. 



There is also an advantage that I do not recol- 

 lect to have .seen mentioned. In descending a 

 pebbly or stony hill, a horse should be enabled to 

 see where to place his hind feet, es|iecially if 

 loaded with much weiglif. Most of the blinders 

 used linbid this, as they fill below, as wi II as 

 project above, the eye. 



Very many horses have been permanently in- 

 jured by placing their feet upon roniiil or loose 

 stones in goirigilown hill. \ sadflle horse iu'ver 

 or seldom does this, ;uhI they would if their 

 eyes were uncovered, be as careful in harness as 

 oiii of it. 



(-)iir race of horses are perhaps equal to any 

 other on the globe, taking them altogether. In 

 this I mean our northern horses; for they are 

 here belter than those of the Southern States, 

 In the latler they li.ive a kw .superior riding 

 horses; the rest are miieli inferior to the horses 

 with us. But it is the (qmiion of many that we 

 much abuse our horses by fist driving. Horses 

 that are almost constantly upon the road in large 

 waggons with very betivy loads, and which move 

 slouly along, keiqi very fat and last to a -surpris- 

 ing old a'.'c. These same horses, driven fast 

 with small loads, would be lean and soon worn 

 out. I do not mean of course that we shouhl all 

 travel at the slow pace of a loaded waggon, but, 

 save onr horses flesh, save our expense in keep- 

 ing them, ;ind, by moderate and humane speed, 

 make our carriages, as well as our horses, last 

 double the time they do. In nine cases out of 



ten those who drive so (iist as we see theni doing 

 daily, could not tell why it is neees.sary. No 

 good cause could be assigned. And isit not 

 almost always either a want of sen.se, or matu- 

 rity of year.s, that is evinced by liist driving? 

 When I have seen a fine horse panting under 

 thi; lasli, the driver has always suflered in my 

 estimation. One sensible man, the other day, 

 said that he wished tliere was a law for reward- 

 ing those who used horses with kindness. His 

 neighbor replied, there is now such a law, and 

 what is more coniforlable than in some other 

 case.s, it cannot be changed by our legislat.irs. 

 "It is equal to two hniidred per cent, boiiiuy, 

 and is greatly more reputabh> into the bargain." 

 " llovr is that.'" "Why in the first place one 

 animal well used, with moderate driving, will 

 last as long as two in succession (friven fast; 

 this is oni: hundred [ler cent. gain. Then one 

 half the feed will keep the well treated horse in 

 equally good eonditiou ; this is another hundred. 

 And, furthermore, the man is esteemed for 

 his kiiidiii'ss by all those whose esteem is the 

 most desirable." Ami we will add the broken 

 carriages and broken necks may be thrown into 

 the bargain equal to another hundred percent. 



Better than all, and more valuable, is the satis- 

 faction fell for kindly nsi'Uj; a gift of Proviilence. 



AMHERST. 



For the Karnier's Mnnttily Visitor. 

 Potato Rot. 

 From the results of experience and investiga- 

 tion, this disease appears to be a '• parasitical 

 fiingus." very small, but in its nature like the 

 toadstool or Mushroom. From this fict the last 

 season I considered what would destroy this veg- 

 etable excrescence, either in the seed or after Ic 

 should have given imperceptible evidei ce of ex- 

 istence; and to accomplish my purpose dipped 

 the seed potatoes, just before planting, in strong 

 brine, and while wet dusted them with fresh 

 slacked oripiick lime. Very few of my potatoes 

 have shown any sign of the rot, although many 

 were in a dise.-ised state at the time of planting. 

 It may, or may not, have done good. As it did 

 no injiiiy, I intend to try it again. P. 



For the Farmer's Monthly Visitor. 

 Grapes. 



Your correspondent, Mr. Brown, who has suc- 

 ceeded so well v/iih his grapes, at Washington 

 City, is no doubt aware that we in New Hamp- 

 shire are too fir north for the Isabella or Catawba 

 grapes. With great care the Catawba has, in a 

 long summer'^ succeeded at Boston, or in the 

 vicinity; but most frequently the frost has caught 

 the unrl|ie fruit. Wo have grapes in our woods 

 that, by cnllivalion, would greatly improve, an 

 both of the above kinds have done, lor they are 

 both natives, I believe of Maryland and Vivginiii. 

 Our fox grape, if suH'ered to become fully ripe, 

 is not an indifTerent fruit, and scarce any tiring is 

 more productive than a grape vine. 



Major .Allium, who lininerly resided near 

 Washington, and who mannfuctured wine from 

 the Catjiwba ;.'rape, mentions that the parent vino 

 taken from the woorls in Slaryland, produced 

 over thirty bushels of grapes per yetir for more 

 than twenty years iu succession. He preferred 

 prunins his vines iu the hill nf the year, as soon 

 as the leaf had been seared by the frost ; as he 

 said that the grapes were, on such vines a few 

 days earlier than those pruned in the spring. 



The Isabella is the best grape to kteji, and cot- 

 ton packing is most approved. G. 



Pomts of a Good Dairy Cow. 



It is adniitled that cows are sometimes met 

 with which give large yields of milk and butter, 

 that have few or none of the point.i usually con- 

 sidered indicative of excellence. Some farmers, 

 indeerl, seem to consider beauty or symmetry 

 wholly incompatible with good milking qualities, 

 and, jndgnig from their own herds, believe that 

 the more ugly and niicouth the shape and ap- 

 pearance of their cows, the better they are. 



.Although in this case the breeder should re- 

 gard dairy qualities as id" the first importance, he 

 should by no means be satisfied with these. His 

 cows may give a large quantity of milk under 

 circumstances which particularly liivor them, and 

 yet lack some of the essential requisites of prof- 

 itable stock — such as coustit-ution, and an ability 

 to sustain themselves under disadvantages of 



