MANURES. 39 



it home in tlic winter. For the reason, that, by cutting wide and deep 

 ditches, through the principal springs, I have, within four years, 

 drained nearly two acres of swamp land, that were formerly covered 

 with water, and now are sufficiently dry for the plow. 



au A N o. 



ALBERT MONTAGUE'S STATEMENT. 



I wish to call attention to a few careful experiments, made the past 

 season. The first tends to prove the value of guano, as compared 

 with first quality of hog manure, on cold land in corn. On such land, 

 I ploughed in a fair coat of manure from the yard, then furrowed it 

 all out, having previously made it fine by the use of the harrow and 

 bush. On one half of this piece, I put hog manure in the furrow, at 

 the rate of 12 loads to the acre. On the other half, I put 150 pounds 

 of guano to the acre. The cost of the manure applied to the land, 

 was 15 dollars, and of the guano, 5 dollars, making a diff"erence of 10 

 dollars per acre. As near as I can judge, at the present time, there 

 are ten bushels more of corn on the half guanoed, than on the other 

 half. There is certainly a much heavier growth of stalks, but as it is 

 not yet husked I cannot state the exact diff'erence. 



Having a piece of sandy plain, too poor to produce anything but a 

 light crop of rye once in three or four years, I thought I would raise 

 a crop of corn on it. I accordingly ploughed in 300 pounds of guano 

 on an acre, and followed it. I gave it a light harrowing, planted, 

 hoed it twice, at a cost of eleven dollars, besides the plowing, which 

 I should have done if I had not planted it. I have husked nearly 

 the whole of it, and I think I can safely calculate on twenty-five bush- 

 els of good sound corn — making a net profit of $14 or 130 per cent. 

 The profit on this acre would about purchase two acres of such land at 

 the present market value. I also harrowed in, a year since, at the 

 rate of 100 pounds of guano to the acre, at the time of sowing rye, 

 and it increased my crop seven bushels. These and other trials have 

 fully satisfied mc, that while we can procure guano for three cents per 

 pound, we may be confident, that if used aright, a fair annual invest- 

 ment in \t will return a good income, whether it is applied to warm 

 or cold lands. 



