MR. stone's address. H 



years ago, that has never received any other dressing, and now 

 yields a heavy burden of grass. 



Ashes, leached or unleached, are a valuable manure, especi- 

 ally on light soils. They also make an excellent dressing for 

 fruit trees. Fish, where they can be readily obtained, and in 

 sufficient quantities, are highly serviceable, either as a top- 

 dressing for mowing fields, or for ploughing in. Hon. Daniel 

 Webster, who nses fish freely on his farm in Marshfield, consid- 

 ers one load equal in value, to three loads of stable manure. — 

 Salt is another useful article for the compost heap, and is des- 

 tined to be extensively employed in agriculture. Sown broad- 

 cast on grass lands, it has proved permanently beneficial, par- 

 ticularly at some distance from the ocean. Sown in the same 

 manner on a cornfield, immediately after planting, at the rate 

 of two bushels to the acre, it has afforded effectual protection 

 against worms and birds. A table spoonful spread in the po- 

 tato hill, before covering, has preserved the crop from insect 

 ravages. A fork full of sea weed in each hill would be still 

 better. 



Within a few years. Guano, or the manure of sea-fowls, has 

 attracted much attention. In England, the humid climate of 

 which is particularly favorable to its use, the results of exper- 

 iments have been so remarkable as to induce extensive impor- 

 tations. An immense number of vessels are engaged in the 

 trade, and numerous islands of the Pacific Ocean are literally 

 disappearing. In this country, guano has many ardent advo- 

 cates, and has been applied with various success. In some in- 

 stances, it has realized sanguine expectations, and in others 

 fallen in the rear of common manures. It is unquestionably 

 one of the most powerful stimulants to vegetable growth, and 

 is reputed to be of permanent value to the soil. Success in the 

 use of this article, however, depends on the exercise of judg- 

 ment. The .same is true of lime, (an excellent neutralizer of 

 acids,) crushed bones, poudrette, etc. But after all, a Farm- 

 er's chief reliance should be on his barn yard and cellar, hog 

 yard, and compost heap.* 



*In the " Farmers' Library," for September IS45, Mr, Teschem^cher, of Boston, says : 

 " In no soil bqt a stiff clay, can guano fsiil to produce its effects; in no soil but one amply 



