216 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



IVLiY 



June. Our practice is, however, to prune nearly 

 all trees and shrubs that require it, in October, 

 and it has been attended with good success. 



It is seldom the case that so much real beauty 

 and value can be obtained at so cheap a rate, as 

 by the cultivation of a few of thcBe plarrts about 

 our dwellings. Downing says "the cottage in 

 the country too rarely conveys the idea of com- 

 fort and happiness which we wish to attach to 

 such a habitation, and chiefly because it stands 

 bleak, solitary, and exposed to every ray of our 

 summer sun, with a scanty robe of foliage to 

 shelter it. How different such edifices, however 

 humble, become when the porch is overhung with 

 climbing plants, — when the blushing rose-buds 

 peep in at the window sill, or the ripe purple 

 clusters of the grape hang down about the eaves, 

 those who have seen the better cottages of Eng- 

 land, well know. Very little care, and very 

 trifling expense, will procure all the additional 

 beauty ; and it is truly wonderful how much so 

 little once done, adds to the happiness of the 

 inmates. Every man feels prouder of his home, 

 when it is a pleasant spot for the eye to rest upon, 

 tlian when it is situated in a desert, or over- 

 grown with weeds. Besides this, tasteful embel- 

 lisliment has a tendency to refine the feelings of 

 every member of the family ; and every leisure 

 hour spent in rendering more lovely and agree- 

 able even the humblest cottage, is infinitely better 

 employed than in lounging about in idle and 

 useless dissipation." Now is the "time to 

 work" — let one beautiful climber, at least, be 

 added to your grounds this spring, even if you 

 have but a square yard to occupy. 



For the New England Farmer. 



"ALL ABOUT GUASfO." 



My experience in regard to this fertilizer, like 

 that of most of your readers, is quite too limited 

 for furnishing reliable information on so impor- 

 tant a subject ; but such as it is, it is at your dis- 

 posal. 



I have made some use of guano for the two 

 last seasons — the first was on a very limited 

 scale Imt so, beneficial were its results that I was 

 induced last spring to i^urchase two tons of it, at 

 a cost, delivered by railroad, of about $112. 



I made use of it on various field crops, and also 

 on garden vegetables. About half a ton of it was 

 applied as a top-dressing to some four or five 

 acres of old meadow land, after having first been 

 mixed or composted with about an equal weight 

 of plaster, and some twelve cart loads of rolled 

 turf. This wa.s applied in April, and a short 

 time after its application, a powerful rain com- 

 pletely inundated nearly all the ground on which 

 it had been spread, and remained on it or con- 

 tinued to flow over it for two or three days. An 

 adjoining field of my neighbor's bore ample testi- 

 mony to the enriching properties of the water 

 which flowed from my land on to his. But its 



effects on my own land during the fore part of 

 the season were strikingly manifest in the deep- 

 er green and more forward growth of the grass, 

 and I had strong hopes, then, of harvesting a 

 bountiful crop. These hopes, however, were but 

 partially realized, the increase of the crop not 

 being worth more than half the expense of the 

 manure. I may say that most of the land to 

 which this dressing was applied became too dry 

 after the middle of June to be benefited very 

 much l)y any kind of manure. 



I design this spring to use some of it on land 

 which is rather wet and not liable to di-ought, 

 and hope to succeed better. In connection with 

 superphosphate, I used it on cabbages and tur- 

 nips with satisfactory results. I also used it on 

 about four acres of potatoes, generally in the hill 

 or drill, according as the potatoes were planted ; 

 sometimes it was used alone, and at other times 

 with plaster or some other fertilizing agent. I 

 made a brief memorandum of the manner in 

 which it was applied, in the hope that the expe- 

 rience of that season would furnish me some data 

 by which 1 might benefit myself or others in fu- 

 ture. Vain hope ! My crop, which appeared 

 promising at first, was nearly ruined by drought. 

 Of course I cannot say what the efi'ect might 

 have been under ordinary circumstances. 



I also used guano on corn in various ways, but 

 applied too much of it on or near the surface to 

 realize the greatest amount of benefit from it in 

 so dry a season. 



I have no doubt that much of it is yet in the 

 ground, and will show itself the coming season. 

 But instead of taking up more sjjace in detailing 

 past experiments, I will briefly give you some of 

 the conclusions to which I have arrived as the 

 result of observation and experience, in the use 

 of this and other highly concentrated manures. 



1. Powerful fertilizers, alone, never will make 

 a crop. 



2. Everything depends, so far as human in- 

 strumentality is concerned, on the use that is 

 made of them, not alone, but in connection with 

 such other constituents and appliances as are 

 adapted to secure the desired result. 



3. A very rich soil, or one that abounds in 

 vegetable and organic substances, does not need 

 them ; unless it be to give the crop an early start 

 in the spring or to hasten its growth and matu- 

 rity. Such soil possesses of itself resources, 

 which only need to bo properly developed in or- 

 der to render the production of a crop, under or- 

 dinary circumstances, more economical and prof- 

 itable without, than with extraneous applica- 

 tions. 



4. A soil that has become so impoverished as 

 to be almost, or entirely, destitute of vegetable 

 and carbonaceous matter, has also become un- 

 fitted, while in such condition, for the economi- 

 cal use of guano or any other powerful fertili- 

 zer. 



This last remark does not apply so strictly to 

 those plants which derive their supply of food 

 largely from water and atmosphere, as to others 

 which depend mainly on the constituents of the 

 soil, in connection with water and the atmos- 

 phere. Such crops as onions, carrots and pars- 

 nips, it is true, feed largely on water, but only 

 when they can obtain it principally, along with 

 the soluble portions of earthy matter of which 



