298 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



their growth, is, we humbly submit, oue of " tha es- 

 seutiats of agriculture.'' 



The starch, gum and sugar question above referred 

 to, is fully and satisfactorily discussed iu Muldek's 

 Ckcmiftry of Vegetable and Animal Physiology — a 

 work of great research, and high authority. Any 

 popular treatise on anatomy or physiology will show 

 tiiat the function of the heart is purely mechanical — 

 that it does not "prepare blood by its own action " 

 for any purpose whatever, but simply propels it 

 through an arterial system into every organ and tis- 

 sue in the body. The lungs and the organs of diges- 

 tion alone " prepare blood " to perform its alimentary 

 duties. 



It was not necessary to show that ammonia in a 

 concentrated form is injurious to plants, or that the 

 soil and atmosphere will furnish them with all that is 

 needful, to make out a clear case in behalf of the 

 phosphates in the growth of annual crops. It is 

 enough to prove that nearly half of the ash of wheat, 

 and of the seeds of all other cereals, is phosphoric 

 acid; and that this acid, in an available condition, 

 exists very sparingly iu ordinary soils, to satisfy any 

 reasonable man that any guano or other manui-e 

 which contained a large quantity of bone-earth, or 

 phosphate of potash, soda or magnesia, must be a 

 valuable fertilizer. Mr. Fryatt has shown that Mexi- 

 can guano contains two or three times more phos- 

 jjhoric acid than Peruvian guano; while he concedes 

 that it has only about a third as much ammonia, lie 

 appears to be deeply interested in the sale of Mexican 

 guano ; and if the article is as rich in phosphates as 

 the published analyses indicate (and we have no rea- 

 son to doubt their accuracy), it deserves extensive 

 and thorough trials. Mr. Higgixs, Maryland State 

 Chemist, speaks thus of the Me*:ican guano: "There 

 have been some interesting trials made with this guano 

 in comparison with other varieties now in the market, 

 which show that the Mexican guano, applied in quan- 

 tities of equal cost with the Peruvian, equaled it the 

 first year. Hut inasmuch as the Mexican guano is a 

 permanent manure, it will produce equally good 

 eilects on the second and third as on the first crop." 

 This statement is encouraging; and it is not impossi- 

 ble that in a system of rotation of crops extending 

 through five years, a ton of Mexican guano, wdiich 

 may be bought for thirty dollars, will be worth as 

 i!u:i-h to the farmer as a ton of Peruvian, which will 

 cuit him fifty-five dollars. Should farther experience 

 sustain this suggestion, the Peruvian government will 

 have to reduce the price of its manure, or go out of 

 the American market. 



We ask the importers of Mexican guano to con- 

 sider that feature in Dr. Stewart's analyses of their 

 manure, which shows that one specimen contained 

 over 25 per cent, of water, and that another had over 

 30 per cent. The latter, in addition to 30 ibs. of 

 water in 100 of guano, had 33.52 per cent of phos- 

 phoric acid ; 22.81 per cent, of lime ; and 5.33 per 

 cent, of potash, soda and magnesia ; being an aggre- 

 gate' of 61.66 per cent. Dry this manure before it is 

 put into the hold of a ship, so that it will contain no 

 more than 10 per cent, of water, as may be done, 

 a:)d it will increase 20 per cent, in value at a very 

 triiiiug cost. 



It is to be regretted that Mr. Fbyatt did not give 



his readers some account of the extent of the beds 

 of Mexican guano ; we fear that the supply will fail 

 by the time that farmei-s get fairly in the' practice of 

 using it. Those so largely engaged in growing wheat, 

 corn, tobacco, cotton and sugar for distant markets, 

 need almost an ocean of imported manure to balance 

 the account with their impoverished fields. The true 

 Balance of Organic Nature is the main point to be 

 aimed at. If this can be obtained without imported 

 ammonia, as we trust it may, it will be truly a noble 

 achievement. 



HINTS FOR OCTOBER — PREPARATIONS 

 FOR THE WINTERING OF STOCK. 



The mythological fable connected with the con- 

 stellation corresponding to October, is as follows : 

 Orion, a celebrated giant, having impiously boasted 

 that there was not on earth an animal which he could 

 not subdue, Diana, whom he had oS'ended, sent a 

 scorpion, which gave him a mortal sting, and was 

 afterwards metamorphosed into this constellation. 

 The character is somewhat like the letter m, with the 

 last stroke prolonged and armed with a sting or dart. 

 It is supposed to be emblematic of the fevers and 

 other diseases which usually prevail in autumn. The 

 sun enters the Scorpion about the 23d of October. 



This month is a busy time for all The summer 

 heats have passed, and the clear cool air of the 

 mornings braces up the system — debilitated and en- 

 feebled by sultiy heats. Fruits are to be gathered 

 and put in store, and preparations made for the 

 coming winter. 



Connected with this, a few remarks upon the eco- 

 nomical keeping of stock may not be out of place. 

 In consequence of the deficiency of pasturage during 

 the past summer, and the stinted growth of corn, po- 

 tatoes and root crops, we apprehend that every farmer 

 having stock to keep will be obliged to economize 

 food in every possible way, and to resort to every 

 available means to render the coarser kinds of fodder 

 palatable and nutritious. Cornstalks that otherwise 

 would be rejected and trampled under foot by stock, 

 if cut by a machine, steamed — either by means of a 

 steam box constructed for the purpose, or by putting 

 them into a large box or hogshead, pouring boiling 

 water over them, and covering up tightly till cold — 

 and mixed with bran, shorts, middlings, or grain 

 ground for the purpose, will go much further in 

 economizing hay and grain than if fed without any 

 preparation. Another means of diminishing the use 

 of hay and grain, ie the more general use of oil-cake. 

 If English farmers have found its value to be so 

 great that they come to our own markets to purchase, 

 and then transport it three thousand miles to be con- 

 verted into flesh by their own stock, surely it is worth 

 our while to retain at home so valuable an article of 

 food. Another important consideration, worthy of 

 note, is the increased value given to the manure. 

 Repeated experiments have satisfactorily shown that 

 the manure dropped by animals fed on rich and 

 highly nitrogenized food is worth far more than that 

 from animals scantily fed, and not kept in a thriving 

 condition ; also that manure from full-grown animals 

 is worth more than that from young stock. In the 

 one case, only those portions of food requisite to sup- 



