86 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. • 



price of the manure and the time and crops which he may lose 

 by his mistake. The only safety is in getting the best war- 

 ranted guano from dealers who can be relied on. 



It often happens that the soil is of such a nature as to make 

 some change in its physical texture desirable. It is too stiff, 

 or too light. There are cases, doubtless, where a thorough 

 dressing of stable manure would be more beneficial than guano 

 or any concentrated manure. The farmer must decide all ques- 

 tions of this kind by the aid of a sound and enlightened judg- 

 ment. In most cases it is not well to use one kind of manure 

 on the same land many years in succession. Thus, on soils 

 where a coarse manure is needed, it will often be found useful 

 to mix guano with it, and an excellent compost may be made in 

 this way. The guano, when so mixed and ploughed in, is very 

 soon decomposed, and supplies the plant with food almost im- 

 mediately ; while the coarser manure, as its decomposition goes 

 on more slowly, becomes available at a later stage of vegetable 

 growth. This method of using guano, I think, should be adopt- 

 ed much oftener than it is. 



There have been too few experiments to determine with cer- 

 tainty the effect of guano, when used for several successive 

 years on the same soil. I give below extracts from the state- 

 ments made by experienced practical men, which show not only 

 the results obtained, but the manner of preparation and appli- 

 cation. A farmer of Worcester county says: "Where guano 

 has been spread and ploughed in, the result is satisfactory ; 

 when applied to corn in the hill, in most cases unsatisfactory. 

 Experiments with phosphate of lime have generally been satis- 

 factory." 



An experienced farmer in Middlesex county writes as fol- 

 lows : "The best results have been realized when it has been 

 sown on grass lands in the spring as early as the month of 

 March. Where it has been used for corn, some have succeeded 

 well ; others have not, for want of knowledge in using it." 



Another successful cultivator says : " I have used it with plas- 

 ter on oats sown broadcast for fodder, and ploughed in two or 

 three inches deep, in the spring. It increased my crop of oats 

 fifty per cent. It is worth the most for any crop when put un- 



