122 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



OCT. 19, 184; 



EXTRACTS FROM MR TESCHEMACHER'S 

 ADDRESS BEFORE THE MASS. HORTI- 

 CULTURAL SOCIETY. 

 Guano. — " Owing to the kindness of Mr Benja- 

 min Bangs, of this city, who presented to me a 

 small portion of guano, brought by one of his ves- 

 sels, the Henry Lee, from the coast of Peru, it has 

 fallen to my lot to try the effects of this much cel- 

 ebrated manure on several plants. The chemical 

 constitution of this substance, renders it probable 

 that it is the excrement of birds, which has, during 

 countless ages, accumulated on the Peruvian coast, 

 where it forms beds of considerable thickness, and 

 where it has for several centuries been used by the 

 inhabitants of that sterile coast to raise luxuriant 

 crops of corn. There are this year sixty English 

 vessels employed in fetching this manure to the 

 English farmers. 



The most recent, and probably most correct 

 antlysis of Guano, that by Voelckel, shows that it 

 contains many of the ingredients favorable to vege- 

 tation, such as several salts of ammonia, phosphate 

 of lime or the chief component part of bonedust in 

 abundance, potash, soda, and as much as one third 

 of organic matter, which would furnish humus with 

 a little clay and sand. 



Immediately on receiving this Guano, about the 

 17th June of this year, I commenced my experi- 

 ments, which I will now explain in order, and as 

 briefly as possible. 



First observing that all those plants which were 

 treated with Guano, were potted in a mixture, con- 

 sisting of plain earth without any manure, sand, 

 and a little leaf mould and peat, with which the 

 Guano was mixed — that those plants which com- 

 pare with them have been grown in our richest 

 compost, and that both have had the same atten- 

 tion, and been grown otherwise under the same 

 circumstances. 



Fuchsia fulgens — one year seedling ; potted 17th 

 June, 'i 1-2 inches high, with one teaspoonful not 

 piled up, of Guano; repotted 9th August, then 12 

 inches high, with another teaspoonful of Guano: is 

 now (Sept. 16,) 1 1-2 foot high. 



The contrast between this and the two years old 

 plant, is very striking, both as to luxuriance of 

 growth and color of the foliage, the plant with Gua- 

 no being vastly superior. I think, also, that the 

 color of the flower is improved. It is well known 

 among gardeners that it is rather difficult to grow 

 this plant well. 



Pelargonium — two seedlings grown with Guano 

 and one of the same sowing without: on the 17th 

 June, these two were potted with one teaspoonful 

 of Guano, and repotted on the 9th August with 

 another teaspoonful. Here also the difference in 

 favor of Guano is very great. 



China Roses — two cuttings with Guano, potted 

 17th June, with one teaspoonful Guano — one was 

 then 7 inches high, the other 4 1-2 ; they are now 

 34 inches and 28 inches respectively, with large 

 healthy foliage and stem: these lia?e not received 

 a second application of Guano. 



Cetosia cristata, or Cockscomh — one seedling, 

 with one teaspoonful, and one of the same sowing 

 without ; the size of the stem, foliage, and head of 

 that with Guano, is more than double that of the 

 other, and the difference in the green color of the 

 leaves remarkable. 



Salvia patens — with one teaspoonful of Guano: 

 the effect here has been to lengthen the joints, and 

 the flower appears a trifle smaller than usual. 

 Acacia Farnesiana — a seedling, showing the 



sizi; of the foliage and length of the joints previous 

 to the application of a teaspoonful of Guano, and 

 the remarkable growth of both afterwards. 



Camellia — with two teaspoonsful, ]7th June, and 

 none since. This specimen, which was quite small 

 and unhealthy before the addition of Guano, as 

 may be seen by the lower leaves, exhibits in a most 

 marked manner, by its beautiful large deep green 

 leaves and healthy bud, the action of this manure. 



I have also exhibited a Camellia grown with a 

 large proportion of fine wood charcoal. The fo- 

 liage and bud is extremely fine and luxuriant, and 

 of a very healthy green color, but, as may be seen, 

 not at all equal to that worked with Guano. 



One Balsam, 17th June, two spoonsful, repotted 

 9th August, with two more to which a little lime 

 was added. 



This is an ugly specimen, being nearly past flow, 

 ering ; but I sent it to confirm an observation in 

 the London Gardener's Chronicle, which states that 

 the Balsams worked there with Guano, came with 

 smaller flowers. It is evidently the case here, but 

 I have watched it carefully and found that not a 

 single flower missed bearing its seed vessel, and 

 that every seed vessel I have opened, is quite full 

 of perfect seeds containing from 14 to 20 in each. 

 I wish this point to be carefully remembered, as I 

 shall found some farther remarks upon it. 



From what I have seen of Guano, it is quite 

 clear that its action is rapid and powerful on the 

 stem and foliage, increasing their size and deepen- 

 ing their green color : of this fact there can be no 

 doubt. I think it probable that it diminishes the 

 size of the flower in some cases, and that it im- 

 proves the seed, both in quantity and quality — of 

 this, however, much more experiment is required 

 to prove the certainty. I have one more remark 

 to make ; when those plants were repotted, which 

 received a second application, the roots were very 

 numerous, and appeared in the most vigorous health 

 — thick, succulent, pure white, the tips with that 

 hairy appearance so well known by cultivators as a 

 sign of strong growth. 



In Peru it is customary, when using Guano to 

 raise pepper, to manure three times ; first on ap- 

 pearance of the roots, then on the appearance of 

 the leaves, and lastly on the formation of the fruit. 



I think the experiment of its action on all fruits, 

 particularly the larger fruit trees, as apples, pears, 

 &c., will be extremely interesting, as well as on 

 the vine, which is well known to be excessively 

 greedy for rich food, particularly for bone manure, 

 the chief ingredient of which, phosphate of lime, 

 Guano contains in considerable quantity." 



Observation of the Growth of Plants Important — 

 "I cannot resist the temptation to explain a single 

 instance where the close observation of the growth 

 of plants is of importance, and I do so more wil- 

 lingly as the result is likely to he useful, and bears 

 directly upon the interesting subject of Guano. 



The nectariferous juices, or, as it is commonly 

 called, the honey in flowers, is usually separated or 

 secreted by glandular bodies called nectaries, and 

 this honey has by many been supposed to be of in- 

 dispensable service in the fecundation of the seed ; 

 but there are also glands on the leaves and leaf 

 stalks, (petioles) of many plants, which perform the 

 same office of secreting honey ; here, of course, it 

 cannot be of use for this purpose. Such glands 

 exist on the petioles, or leafstalks, of most of the 

 Acacia tribe, on the tips of three or four of the 

 lower serraturea on the leaves of Grewia, on vari- 



ous parts of the leaves or stems of the Balsam, <, 

 Passiflora, and many other plants. Thes'> glan 

 only secrete honey during the youth and growtlj 

 the leaf ; it is then only that their operation ai 

 beautiful structure can be properly observed ; wh. 

 the leaf has attained its full growth and perfectic 

 the active part of these glands dries up, the ti' 

 for observing their powers is past, and the leaf th 

 proceeds in its own important function of elaboi 

 ting the sap. It has been lately surmieed, and 

 appears to me with every probability of truth, tl 

 this honey is an excretion thrown off, of the supi 

 abundant and useless part of the juices, after t 

 leaf or flower has selected all that is necessa 

 precisely analogous to the excretions of the anin 

 frame. I will attempt, very briefly, to show, tl 

 this view, if correct, is of some importance both 

 Agriculture and Horticulture. Mr A. A. Hayes, 

 Roxbury, in a beautiful, simple, and I believe ori 

 nal experiment, exhibited before the Chemical { 

 ciety of Boston, last spring, proved the existence 

 phosphoric acid (probably combined) in seve 

 seeds, by immersing sections of them in weak so 

 tions of sulphate or acetate of copper; in whate 

 part of the seed phosphoric acid existed, on t 

 part was deposited a precipitate of phosphate 

 copper: this was particularly evident in the sei 

 of Indian corn. 



A certain quantity of phosphoric acid, or ph 

 phates, is therefore necessary to the existenci 

 these seeds ; and that part of the plant, (prolia 

 the flower,) destined to perform the function of [ 

 paring the juices for these seeds, must go on 

 erting its utmost powers in selecting and reject 

 until the requisite quantity of phosphates ami ot 

 ingredients for the seed are obtained. Now 

 phosphates in most soils exist in extremely mir 

 quantities ; therefore, those plants and floH j 

 whose seeds require any quantity, must ext 

 large portions of food from the soil before they 

 select the amount of phosphates necessary for 

 perfection of their seeds ; and probably onl; 

 many seeds arrive at maturity as the plant can ] 

 cure phosphates to complete ; the remainder, 

 bryos of which are always formed in abunda 

 are abortive — that is, never come to perfection. 



The same line of reasoning of course applie 

 the other necessary ingrediei.'ts of seed.-^. 

 therelbro, we present to a plant food cento iniii; 

 abundant supply of these ingredients, it seems 

 sonable to suppose that we shall produce i, 

 seeds, or rather that more of the embryo seeds 

 be perfected. Now I have before stated that 

 chemical analysis of Guano shows that it ccnil; 

 in abundance, most of the necessary ingredien 

 plants and seeds, the nitrogen of its ammonia 

 ing absolutely requisite for the cellular, vase 

 and other parts of the stem and loaves, an 

 phosphoric acid, as well as it nitrogen, tor 

 seeds; and if future experience should coi 

 what I have today stated as an opinion, thai • 

 flowers of plants manured with Guano bcc ■ 

 smaller, it may be accounted for on the assi 

 tion that, as there is presented to the plant t ■' 

 ingredients in abundance, particularly those ne • 

 sary for the seed, the flower, and its glands, w « 

 office it is to prepare the latter, have less wn 

 perform, less food to analyze, less to selet 

 less to reject ; hence there is no necessity to 

 them of so large a size as where much exertic*] 

 these functions is required. The seed will «|| 

 be larger and in greater quantity. 



I offer this train of reasoning on an absi 



