ANIMAL MANURES. 1 "i 1 



193. The value of guano, as manure, depends chiefly upon 

 the compounds of nitrogen, and the phosphates which it con- 

 tains ; tlie alkalies and other ingredients of plants are usually 

 })resent in too small quantity to exercise any decided effects 

 upon vegetation; hence the judicious farmer, who is de- 

 su-ous of keeping his fields in proper condition, should add 

 to it the ashes of sea- weeds {help) or common salt, to supply 

 the materials in which it is deficient. A well-known English 

 agriculturist, the Rev. Mr. Huxtable, states, that he has found 

 that the most profitable way of using guano is, some weeks 

 before sowing, to mix each cwt. of it with 1 cwt. of salt and 

 1 cwt. of gypsum. For the reasons just stated, it has been 

 found better to manm-e with a mixtm*e of yard dung and 

 guano than with guano alone ; and careful experiments made 

 in Scotland have shown that these manures, mixed in the 

 proportion of 10 to 14 tons of dung to 3 to 5 cwt. of guano, 

 will raise a larger crop in the first instance, than from 30 to 

 40 tons of dung alone, and leave the land in as good, if not 

 better condition, for the aftercrops, at about one-half the 

 expense of the dung." The wholesale price of Peruvian 

 guano in Liverpool is at present £9 9*. per ton. It is 

 usually appUed at the rate of from 3 to 5 cwt. to the statute 

 acre, and to prevent the seeds being injured, it should, 

 previous to sowing, be mixed with dry soil, peat mould, 

 or with salt and gypsum, as above described. When guano 

 was first introduced into this country, the farmers, who 

 had been accustomed to regard bulk as necessary to a good 

 manure, applied it in such large quantities that the crops 

 were in many cases destroyed. 



With regard to the permanency of guano, considerable 

 apprehensions were at first entertained, but experience has 

 shown that its beneficial eff'ects upon the crops are not 

 confined to a single season. 



194. Adulteration of Guano. — The character of guano, as 

 manure, has sufiered severely from the tricks of an unprin- 

 cipled class of manure manufacturers, by whom it is fre- 

 (luently so skilfully adulterated as to render detection im- 

 })ossible without scientific examination. It might be expected 

 that I would give some directions to enable farmers to dis- 

 cover these adulterations, but I do not think that the chemical 

 analyses of soils or manures can properly be performed by 

 the farmer. In every case tlie purchaser of guano should 



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