No. 9. 



Use of Guano, 



267 



stances of the two countries, than there is 

 here, so that, in truth, our Ihrincrs have no 

 occasion to shrink from attempting- wliat has 

 succeedcil there. There is but one depart- 

 ment of a<iricuUure from wliich they need 

 withhold, through tiie dread of competing 

 with English farmers, — that is systematic 

 breeding: this requires more time, atten- 

 tion, and means, than our people are willing 

 to give to a tiling, though of great import- 

 ance, yet of little or no immediate profit. 



For the use of guano in this country, be- 

 sides tliese general reasons, there are the 

 particular one^ offered by the article itself. 

 Its component parts are precisely those we 

 want for manure, and precisely those we 

 have in the manures usually employed, but 

 in a far more concentrated form. It appears 

 from the analyses made by many distinguish- 

 ed chemists, to contain everything that is 

 wanted to act on soils and increase their 

 powers of producing, as well as every in-j 

 gredient contained in plants. From this it' 

 would seem expressly designed for a strong 

 action on vegetable life, and expressly cal- 

 culated for the restoration of worn-out soils. 

 In this country, as we have before said, the 

 experiments have been so few and on so 

 small a scale, that we cannot bring forward 

 much of a practical and definite nature to 

 bear out this opinion. All that has been 

 done here, however, proves it, and if we 

 choose to admit the success of England, 

 there is no doubt or question on that point. 

 In the experiments that were made last 

 year in diiferent parts of the country, it 

 should be borne in mind that the season 

 was extramely unfavourable. The drought 

 at the commencement of the season, and 

 the long continued and excessive heat, 

 would have kept back the action of any 

 manure, more particularly of one that must 

 have moisture for its decomposition. There 

 was besides a very severe frost in the spring, 

 that killed acres of wheat and cut down po- 

 tatoes and corn : this, with the aid of the 

 cut-worm, in some cases very much dimin- 

 ished the anticipated glories of the guano. 

 But as far as the experiments made in East 

 Bradford, went, they prove the strong action 

 of guano on vegetation. The clover and 

 the grass were both very much increased ; 

 the corn which was moistened with a solu- 

 tion of guano, showed itself sooner than any 

 of the rest of the field, and appeared, until 

 attacked by the frost and worm, much the 

 most flourishing. For so slight an applica- 

 tion, this was all that could be expected; 

 but if this had been followed up by the Pe- 

 ruvian mode of throwing the guano about 

 the roots afler the corn reaches a few inches 

 in height, and then again when out in tas- 



sel, the full effect would have been seen, 

 and a general conclusion could have been 

 drawn, as respects its action on this vegeta- 

 ble. But unless each plant had been wa- 

 tered after these applications, the excessive 

 drought would have caused disappointment, 

 and the manure considered in fault. A gen- 

 tleman near Boston, on a poor, sterile, sandy 

 soil, planted a few hills with the variety 

 known as sweet corn. A teaspoon ful of 

 guano — South ^fmerican — was mixed with 

 the soil when the corn was sown. A second 

 application was made when the grain was a 

 foot or more in height; the earth was drawn 

 away from the hill, and about three spoons- 

 ful thrown in. It was not placed near the 

 stem, but five inches or more from it ; the 

 trench made by the hoe, was three or four 

 inches in breadth and a half to two inciies 

 deep. The whole was then profusely watered. 

 The product is stated to have been much 

 beyond that which received no guano. Be- 

 sides these, we know of no experiments 

 made on corn. We cannot appeal to Eng- 

 land here ; but if this manure is to be used 

 on this, our staple, more experience must 

 confirm its value, and the judgment of our 

 own people direct its application. On grass 

 and clover, the greatest satisfaction has been 

 expressed as to this manure. It has been 

 tried on dif!erent soils; at Germantown, 

 Massachusetts, and Chester county; in each 

 of these districts the benefit has been very 

 marked. So far as the experiments in the 

 latter region go, the result was very re- 

 markable, when the season is considered. 

 They were made without any experience 

 but that of British farmers to direct; the 

 result was most satisfactory; and the ques- 

 tion presents itself — if this material can pro- 

 duce such excellent effects during a season 

 so entirely unfavourable as the last summer, 

 how much more considerable would they 

 have been in one of more rain ! On the 

 potatoe, it will be seen from the account of 

 the experiments made in East Bradford, 

 published in the Farmers' Cabinet of Sep- 

 tember, that the action of the guano was 

 very marked. Those plants cultivated with 

 it came up the first, and grew far more ra- 

 pidly than the others, which had only barn- 

 yard manure. The crop of turnips was also 

 much increased, or rather, it "should be said, 

 was supposed to be — as there was no other 

 ground manured in any other way and sown 

 with that vegetable, it is impossible to make 

 any comparative estimate. We have in this 

 superficial and unsatisfactory way, given all 

 the positive knowledge we possess. By 

 others, this manure has been tried on peas, 

 melons, strawberries, cabbages, cauliflowers, 

 grapes, and hot-house plants, successfully 



