12 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Jan. 



morning of the 16th the thermometer stood at 10® 

 above, a little before sunrise. Last year, it will be 

 observed, it stood at 10, 17 and 20° below, at dif- 

 ferent points within a circuit of a mile, at Con- 

 cord, Mass. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THE USE OF GUANO. 



Mr. Editor : — As Peruvian Guano has been 

 used in New England only to a very limited extent 

 as a fertilizer, and as every scrap of intelligence 

 upon tlie subject is now of great interest and im- 

 portance to the practical farmer, I send you for 

 publication the following extract from a letter re- 

 cently received from a gentleman in Virginia, who 

 has very successfully used that article on the old, 

 worn-out lands in that State. What is necessary 

 to restore the exhausted soils of Virginia, is, mu- 

 tatis mutandis, equally necessary to the same soils 

 in Massachusetts ; and as it regards the expense, 

 guano, at fifty dollars the ton, is actually cheaper 

 than manure at six dollars the cord. The extract 

 which follows explains itself. 



WaUham, Dec, IS52. d. c. 



"You ask, is guano the best and most economi- 

 cal manure for hay and garden vegetables?" My 

 own trials of it have chiefly been on the field crops 

 of this region, namely, corn, wheat and clover. 

 The effects of it on those crops are most admira- 

 ble, as well as in permanently improving the soils. 

 I have also applied it to ray garden, and have used 

 it as a top dressing to herdsgrass, but I cannot 

 say that the effect on the grass or garden vegeta- 

 ble was very marked. Some friends of mine, how- 

 ever, have described its action on' garden vegeta- 

 bles and on timothy as most excellent, and I liave 

 no doubt it is so. 



I suppose if a new garden is to be made on poor 

 land, it would be necessary to use vegetable ma- 

 nures as well as guano, to get the soil into the best 

 state for culinary vegetables, or in fact for any 

 kind of crop. Guano is composed chiefly of the 

 azotised compounds and phosphates. A good, rich 

 soil contains, in addition to these ingredients, tlio 

 organic matter of vegetables. I find my fields con- 

 stantly improving, as the growth of clover and all 

 kinds of grass and weeds is promoted by guano. 



"We have in this part of our State various soils, 

 namely, sandy and gravelly loams, stiff white clays, 

 and the red clays. On the hard and gravelly 

 loams, and on the white clays, the effects of gua- 

 no are truly admirable, and also is on the pale red 

 clays. On the dark red clays, I have been in- 

 formed that its effects have not been so marked. 

 If you wish to use it as a top dressing to grass 

 land, you had better mix it with ground plaster of 

 Paris, in the proportion of one part of plaster to 

 two of guano. This tends to fix the volatile am- 

 monia, and also furnishes a small quantity of lime 

 to the soil. When applying guano to any crops 

 at the time of planting, it should be plowed or har- 

 rowed in, two or three inches in depth, and should 

 be broadcasted, and may be in quantity from one 

 hundred to three hundred pounds to the acre. 



My own belief is, that gua«o is the cheapest 

 fertilizer, and the greatest boon ever conferred on 

 a poor country. I doubt if it will ever fail on any 

 poor lands, and think that you will not err in ap- 

 plying it to any such." 



For the New. England Farmer. 

 PROFITS OF FOWLS. 



Mr. Editor : — There has been an increasing in- 

 terest.taken in the subject of poultry, for the last 

 few years. I have watched with interest for a re- 

 sult which is now realized, viz., that native fowla 

 are more profitable than otlier breeds. There have 

 been many statements made of expense and in 

 come from a stock of native fowls, invariably 

 showing a profit; whilst I have never seen, if me- 

 mory serves me right, but a single statement of 

 fancy breeds, and tliat gave a loss. I saw in your 

 paper of December 18, an account of the farmers' 

 uiccting in Concord, showing conclusively that 

 poultry raising and egg-producing is profitable. I, 

 too, would cast in my mite to serve the common 

 cause. 



The following is the account with my fowls one 

 year, commencing Dec. 1, 1850. 



On hand, 4 roosters and 74 hens and pullets, worth 50 cts. each. 

 They consumed 41 bushels 12 qis. northern corn... $-35, 99 



Do. 31 bushels 21 (jls. flat corn 22,16 



Do. 200 Ho. scraps 3,32 



Interest on the worth of fowls '.^,31 



Less worth of fowls at close of year 10,.' 



Expenses S;74,3I 



Income— 742.5 doz. eggs, at 15.5 per doz ...115,84 



■ Fowls sold ., 9,56 



Income $125,40 



Sublnict expenses 74,31 



Actual profit S51,0!) 



Which leaves $1,28 gain on every dollar invest- 

 ed. It also shows a gain on each fowl of G5.5 cts. 



Commenced the year 1651, Dec. 1, with 76 fowls, worth 36 



cents apiece. 

 They consumed 501 bush, corn, at 81 cts per bush. $11,26 



Do. 13b Ills, scraps, at 16 mills i)er lb 2,11 



Interest on the worth of fowls 1,64 



Less worth of fowls at close of year 8,91 



Expenses $53,05 



Income— 3741^ doz. eggs, at 165 cts per doi 01,65 



Fowls sol J 20,35 



Income $82,00 



Subtract expenses 53,05 



Profit $28,95 



Which leaves $1,02 gain on every dollar invest- 

 ed. It also shows a gain on each fowl of 38 cts. 



]My gain this year has been less for the reasons 

 which follow, viz. : I killed off the best of my 

 fowls, one-third part in March ; and again I lost by 

 accident pei'haps two dozen. So tiiat upon the 

 whole this year shows the business to be as pro- 

 fitable as the year before. 



I rejoice that this subject is receiving due weight 

 in New England, — that fowl breeders are count- 

 ing up the cost, and find in the result a handsome 

 profit. I trust that the fairs this coming year will 

 be ornamented with the native biddies, and that 

 they will be allowed to take the first place in the 

 county shows, as they certainly will at their own- 

 er's interest table. R. ^Mansfield. 



West Needham, Dec, 1852. 



Grizzly Bear I — All who are desirous of seeing 

 a specimen of the productions of that famous 

 world, California, are advised to go and see the 

 grizzly bear, now on exhibition at 19 Charlestown 

 Street, Boston. The bill states that Lis actual 

 weight is over 1"00 pounds ! 



