No. 7. 



Guano. 



203 



mark, tliat the quantity of straw grown on 

 the plot manured with guano alone, consi- 

 derably exceeded that of either of the others ; 

 the wheat, also, was of equal weight per 

 bushel. 



In another experiment, at Wraxall, Som- 

 ersetshire, 2 cwt. 2 qrs. 29 lbs. of guano was 

 tried against 12 tons of stable manure, and 

 also against 20 bushels of bones. Here the 

 guano was sown after the wheat had been 

 drilled in, and harrowed at once. The pro- 

 duce from the guano-manured ground was 

 greatest. 



An experiment with a crop of Swede tur- 

 nips, at the same place, shows the following 

 results. 2^ Cwt. of guano, mixed with a 

 like quantity of mould, and half as much 

 powdered charcoal, produced 17 tons of tur- 

 nips per acre, each ton of the produce cost- 

 ing 2s. Id. for manure. 20 Tons of stable 

 manure produced 16 tons of turnips, each 

 ton costing 5s. lid. for manure. 32 Bush- 

 els of crushed bones produced 15 tons of 

 turnips, at a cost of 5s. 9d. for each ton of 

 the produce. The guano compost was laid 

 in rows, covered with the plough, and the 

 seed drilled in upon it. 



Mr. Skirving, of Walton Nursery, Liver- 

 pool, has used guano extensively, and says, 

 which is important for the farmer to know, 

 that it is not a temporary stimulant ; good 

 crops having been obtained, without any 

 manure whatever, from land where guano 

 had been used and good crops produced in 

 the preceding year. He further states, "In 

 the gardens and nursery grounds I have 

 used it in a liquid state, and in that manner 

 it has surpassed every manure yet disco- 

 vered. Its effect on young fruit and forest 

 trees, is wonderful ; also, upon hot-house 

 and green-house plants of every description; 

 even the exotic heaths, to which manure of 

 every kind has been considered injurious, 

 seem to flourish in a manner beyond prece- 

 dent, when watered with it. About 4 lbs. 

 to 12 gallons of water are enough for the 

 liquid. The water should stand twenty-four 

 hours before use ; and, when drawn off, 12 

 gallons more may be put to the same guano." 

 From our own experience, we object to the 

 proportion of guano used in water by Mr. 

 Skirving, for applying to plants in pots. 

 Even if an ounce only be added to every 

 gallon of water, we doubt the propriety of 

 using it oftener than once a week. We 

 still require further experience to guide us 

 in the use of this powerful ingredient; it 

 will, however, have been collected from our 

 own experiments, that caution in its appli- 

 cation is necessary. That uniformity of 

 strength may be obtained, any undissolved 

 guano remaining at the bottom of a liquid 



cask, should always be cleaned out, for gar- 

 den use, and the requisite proportions again 

 mixed. 



In a preceding page we mentioned the 

 luxuriant growth of strawberry plants, from 

 the use of guano ; we can now state the ef- 

 fect on the crop of fruit. Its application to 

 Williams's Vigornian, occasioned too much 

 foliage, and the plants appeared as if drawn 

 up under the shade of trees. . We fell into 

 the usual error of over-dosing them, and the 

 crop was not improved. The other variety 

 of strawberry on which it was tried, was 

 Myatt's Pine ; here the result was differ- 

 ent ; the plants assumed no more than a 

 healthy luxuriance, and the crop was a very 

 abundant one. It is quite evident that the 

 luxuriant growth given by guano to this shy 

 bearing strawberry, is highly advantageous 

 to its fertility. Most persons agree in ac- 

 knowledging Myatt's Pine Strawberry to be 

 the finest flavoured and the most difficult to 

 cultivate successfully, of any in our gar- 

 dens; we believe, however, complaint against 

 its fertility need no longer exist. If runners 

 be planted as early as they can be obtained — 

 certainly not later than July, and the beds 

 be supplied with guano water, four ounces 

 to the gallon, once a week for four weeks, 

 commencing as soon as the blossom buds 

 are visible in the hearts of the plants, we 

 believe they will not fail to bear abundantly; 

 and, by maturing the latest flowers, will 

 continue longer in bearing than many other 

 sorts. Probably it would be advantageous 

 to apply a little guano to the plants in Sep- 

 tember; but, if greatly stimulated at this 

 season, the plants may, possibly, be driven 

 into flower, to the prejudice of the spring 

 blossom. The Roseberry Strawberry is 

 much less desirable than it would otherwise 

 be, were it not for the shortness of its fruit 

 stalks, whereby half the produce is mixed 

 with the soil, and spoilt. Now, there ap- 

 pears reason for believing, if liquid guano 

 were, perhaps twice, applied, when the 

 fruiting stems have fairly appeared from 

 the crowns of the plants, that an impetus 

 may be given to their growth, and that they 

 would be thereby lengthened, very much to 

 the benefit of the crop of fruit. This, how- 

 ever, is but theoretical — we have not yet 

 tried it. 



Since our observations on guano have 

 been published in the foregoing pages, we 

 have to thank many friends for their com- 

 munications on the subject; and we hope to 

 receive many more. One gentleman tells 

 us, that when his turnips came into the 

 rough leaf, and were almost destroyed by 

 the fly, he put two ounces of guano into a 

 two-gallon garden pan full of water, stirred 



