186 



Guano. 



Vol. VIII. 



Guano. 



Some late numbers of the Auctarium to Maund's 

 Botanic Garden, contain a well written article on 

 Guano, which we have concluded would be.no less in- 

 teresting to our readers, than it has been to thfe editor. 

 There is little probability that this remarkable sub- 

 stance — be it what it may — whether the deposit of 

 birds, or of volcanic origin— will come very considera- 

 bly into use either in this country, or in England. 

 The fact of its diminishing in quantity in Peru— its 

 absolute necessity in the cultivation of many of the 

 volcanic and sandy districts of South America, as well 

 as the high price at which only it can be procured, will 

 keep the supply in this country and in England very 

 limited. A sample of the guano may be seen at this 

 office. It is " a fine brown, or fawn coloured powder, 

 emitting a strong marine smell." We have thought 

 we recognize in its smell, something similar to that 

 which we experience when first entering the enclosure 

 of a menagerie. The experiments detailed below, have 

 been prosecuted with great care and judgment, and 

 unequivocally demonstrate the existence in guano, of 

 a most powerful and effective stimulant to plants. 

 The article will probably be concluded in our next 

 number.— Ed. 



• So much has of late been said and written, 

 about this celebrated manure, that inquiries 

 become more and more frequent, reg-arding 

 its intrinsic qualities, and the methods of 

 best and most profitably employing it. Some 

 use it in a liquid state ; some, mixed with 

 earthy ingredients; and others apply the 

 pOre guano alone. Some too, work it into the 

 soil, either generally or partially ; otliers 

 apply it to the surface. Regarding quantity, 

 the practice has been equally variable ; gua- 

 no having been used from one cwt. on an 

 acre, even to ten. These discrepancies puz- 

 zle plain practical men, and induce them to 

 neglect that which is worthy of attention. 

 Such circumstances are, at present, insepa- 

 rable from the subject; not alone because 

 this is a newly-introduced article, but be- 

 cause we are all young in the knowledge of 

 manures in general. 



The compounding of various manures to- 

 gether, is a subject of much importance; 

 one that has scarcely been thought of, e.x- 

 cepting a few of tite rudest processes, which 

 have been adopted without the guidance of 

 a single idea as to the effect likely to be 

 produced. It is well known that the drugs 

 of our pharmacopoeia greatly assist, or ame- 

 liorate, each other in their effects on the 

 human body. So, also, is it of the food which 

 we ourselves eat; and so it probably is with 

 the food of living vegetables; but at present, 

 in the science of the nutrition of vegetables, 

 men, generally speaking, are merely empir 

 ics, — knowing almost nothing of the "mode 

 of operation" of the food of plants ; even 

 whether from the atmosphere or the earth, 



the vegetable collects the greater portion of 

 the elements of its solids. It is, however, a 

 gratifying fact, that rays of light are darting 

 through the crevices of ignorance, and it 

 cannot be doubted but that ere long, although 

 we may not be walking in broad sun-shine, 

 we shall be emancipated from the darkness 

 which has so long invested this department 

 of natural science. Liebig has risen as a 

 star of the first magnitude; and promises, 

 by his light, to guide us on our way to re- 

 gions of comparative brightness. 



Although our intention, in tliis place, is 

 chiefly to bring together the leading practi- 

 cal facts which have been elicited by the 

 use of a newly-introduced suhstance as a 

 manure; still we cannot pass over tlie im- 

 aginings which naturally arise on approach- 

 ing the subject ; and these general observa- 

 tions may, we trust, the better prepare some 

 of our readers, for carrying into successful 

 practice, the experiments of their predeces- 

 sors; although they may be unable to in- 

 vestigate those laws and processes essential 

 to the development of organic nature. 



The importance of attention to tliis sub- 

 ject will be better understood by looking 

 through its effects. These are an increase 

 of organic, out of inorganic, matter; — of 

 vegetable, and hence animal, life, out of the 

 inorganized substances of the earth. In re- 

 gard to animal or vegetable life, Liebig's 

 general remarks on nutrition are appropri- 

 ate. He says, " The continued existence of 

 all living beings is dependent on the recep- 

 tion by them of certain substances, which 

 are applied to the nutrition of tlieir frame. 

 An inquiry, tlierefore, into the conditions on 

 which the life and growth of living beings 

 depend, involves the study of those sub- 

 stances which serve them as nutriment, as 

 well as the investigation of the sources 

 whence these substances are derived, and 

 tlie changes which they undergo in process 

 of assimilation. A beautiful connection sub- 

 sists between the organic and inorganic 

 kingdoms of nature. Inorganic matter af- 

 fords food to plants, and they, on the other 

 hand, yield the means of subsistence to ani- 

 mals. The conditions necessary for animal 

 and vegetable nutrition are essentially dif- 

 ferent. An animal requires for its develop- 

 ment, and for the sustenance of its vital 

 functions, a certain class of substances which 

 can only be generated by organic beings 

 possessed of life. Although many animals 

 are entirely carnivorous, yet their primary 

 nutriment must be derived from plants ; for 

 the animals upon which they subsist receive 

 their nourishment from vegetable matter. 

 But plants find new nutritive material only 

 in inorganic substances. Hence one great 



