142 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



March 



according to the amount of labor required in 

 transporting the materials, and the manner in 

 wliich the wall was laid, whether by trenching 

 or otherwise. 



Hedge fence, made of Virginia thorn plants — 

 {crat(£(jus c.ordata) set twenty-one to a rod ; cost, 

 at the end of the fourth year, including planting, 

 trimming, Qia., fifty cents a rod ! This statement 

 with respect to the cost of hedges of Virginia 

 thorn, accords well Avith the experience of others 

 who have introduced this species of enclosure on 

 their lands, and especially with those of Mr. 

 Kirk, of Pennsylvania, whose expcr'ence in this 

 particular department of forming, proba])ly ex- 

 ceeds that of any person in the United States. 

 The cost of stone wall, we think, will generally 

 be not far from $1 per rod, and if from this we 

 deduct the increased value of tlie soil, perma- 

 nently improved by the removal of the stones, 

 and the very important advantage resulting from 

 having them placed forever out of the way, the 

 expense of this highly valuable and desirable 

 Bpecies of enclosure will probably be less than 

 that of hedge. But hedges, when properly man- 

 aged, are very desirable. They are not only 2)er- 

 manent, but very efficient as a protection against 

 the depredations of every description of animal 

 ordinarily found upon our farms. They are also 

 very ornamental, and communicate a rural aspect 

 to the country which other species of enclosure 

 cannot equally confer. 



The editor of one of our agricultural puljlica- 

 tions, in some observations pertinent to this sub- 

 ject, says :— 



"We have found l)y experience that in making 

 fence of posts and rails, or posts for bars or gates, 

 there is nothing gained by making the posts too 

 small. Perhaps there is no timljer in which the 

 difference of durability between large and small 

 posts is more striking than in that of the common 

 white cedar or cypress of our swamps. Mr. 

 Shurtloir found his cedar fence to last about fif- 

 t-aen years, the posts rotting off in that time, and 

 perhaps fifteen years may be sot down as about 

 the ordinary duration of a wood fence, let the 

 method of construction be what it may. This 

 single fact siiould cause farmers and land-owners 

 to pause, and ask, where their fences are to come 

 from, w!ien their ]n-esont, and perhaps already 

 half-decayod, wood fences are rotten and gone! 

 We are couvinccd tliat, eve many years, want of 

 fence will be one of the most serious evils the 

 farmer will be called to encounter." 



Vv )iK.\T. — According to the most correct analy- 

 sis, wheat contains, in one hundred parts, 3.3 per 

 cent, of ashes, and these ashes consist of 12 per 

 cent, lime salts, and 51 of silica, or sand. Hence, 

 wheat will sometiriTios si!cceed after buck-vvlioat, 

 a;s th.\y ;ive compos .'d of d!f?.M'(!nt elements, both 

 of whicii may co-.'xlst iu ilic s.'il. 



For the Ifew England Farmer. 



A WORD IN SEASON ABOUT GUANO 



BY DR. JOSEPH REYNOLDS. 



The failure of guano to produce the beneficial 

 effects expected from it, the past season, seems to 

 have destroyed the faith of many farmers, in its 

 value as a fertilizer. For my part, I have not 

 lost my faith in it at all, but I think I have 

 learned something from observation, with respect 

 to the proper mode of applying it. Indeed, the 

 experience of the past year has only confirmed an 

 opinion which I have long had, that the efficacy 

 of guano depends essentially upon the mode of its 

 application. Last spring an idea got into exten- 

 sive circulation, that the mixing of guano with 

 other substances was but little better than labor 

 lost. Hence, msmy farmers put it into the hill, 

 and planted their corn, or other seeds, in direct 

 contact with it, or with only a little earth thrown 

 over it perhaps with the foot, in dropping the 

 seed. In this state, when the tender radicles of 

 the corn shot downward, and came in » ontact 

 with the guano, which had now become softened 

 into a caustic paste, they were at once burned 

 and destroyed, as they would have been in a paste 

 of lime or ashes. After the corn was planted, 

 but little rain fell for some weeks. Probably in 

 many instances no rain reached the guano to dis- 

 solve it, and diffuse it through the soil, but it all 

 remainnl, confined to a small space, except what 

 was given off in the form of vapor, and acted, 

 when it acted at all, in a concentrated form. — 

 This may be illustrated by the action of certain 

 caustic substances — ammonia, for example — when 

 applied to the surface of the human body. When 

 this is applied in a diluted form, over a consider- 

 able surface, it stiuiulates the vessels of the skin 

 to a more vigorous performance of their natural 

 functions ; but when applied in a concentrated 

 form, it destroys the entire tissue to which it is 

 applied, and leaves an unsightly and painful ul- 

 cer. One of the best fields of corn which I saw 

 in this town, the past season, was raised with 

 guano in the following manner : After the ground 

 had been properly prepared, a furrow was made 

 for the row, of the counuon dej^th. The guano 

 was sprinkled into this furrow, through its entire 

 length. It was then covei'ed with the hoe to the 

 depth of two or three inches, and the corn drop- 

 ped upon this covering, the kernels being placed 

 eight or ten inches apart. The yield was estima- 

 ted, notwithstanding the drought, at a hundred 

 bushels per acre. Where it is preferred to plant 

 in hills, rather in drills, the guano should, if used 

 unmixed, be sprinkled over at least a square foot 

 of surface, at the bottom of the furrow, and be 

 covered with about two inches of soil, and the 

 corn dropped upon this. 



But my object in writing at this time is to say 

 a few words about the use of guano as a toj) 

 dressing. Those farmers who iutond to use it for 

 this purpose, should improve the presont time to 

 obtain it, and prepare it for use. During the 

 stormy days of this montli, or the early part of 

 March, when they cannot work out of doors, tliey 

 can pulverize it upon the ))arn floor, and stow it 

 away in barrels for use. During the cold weath- 

 er it gives off but little of its ammonia by expo- 

 sure to the air. But during the warm days qf 

 sjiring, when exposed, it parts with a great amount 



