172 



GUANO. 



guano. In this respect the kingdom of Saxony may 

 be considered the first ; for during the past year this 

 country consumed more of this manure than all the 

 remaining states of the German confederation to- 

 gether, its annual consumption being about 30,000 

 cwt. ; and an experience of nine years has already 

 brought it into such extensive use, that thousands of 

 farmers may now be found who manure with guano. 

 In the face of such facts, the objections most fre- 

 quently urged against manuring with this agent — 

 that it is too expensive, and evanescent in its action 

 — must lose their weight. Guano is expensive, to 

 be sure ; but if one hundred-weight of this substance 

 produces an effect equal to that of three or four loads 

 of ordinary muck, it is obvious that it will remuner- 

 ate as well as the latter, and even still better; its oper- 

 ation is indeed quickly over, but if it acts so vigor- 

 ously, that, even in the first year of its application, the 

 capital expended is restored with abundant interest 

 from the soil, then its slighter after-operation is, it 

 may be presumed, not so great an imperfection after 

 all. 



Besides these objections, I have often heard from 

 farmers that the reason why they did not employ 

 guano was the apprehension that they might obtain 

 bad, spurious, or adulterated merchandise. This 

 fear is certainly well founded ; but equally well 

 founded is the statement, that chemistry offers a 

 means by which the farmer may easily and confi- 

 dently protect himself against disappointments or 



