MANURES. 125 



On referring to the foregoing table, it may be thought very expensive to 

 use the quantities of manure stated, but the greater number of our best 

 farmers use much more. It is affirmed by many farmers that an expen- 

 diture of 1 per acre in guano will give an increase of 2, 5s. per acre, 

 or a net profit of 25s. ; but it must be kept in view that guano should 

 always be applied in wet weather if not, I maintain that it is useless 

 applying it. Many farmers do not use much of it, because they say 

 it only does for one season, and that it does not remain in the soil. I 

 believe that a portion of it does remain in the soil, especially after a 

 turnip crop ; but I think it much the better plan only to apply it in 

 such quantities as will answer the purpose for one year, and to put it on 

 in such a way as will give one crop only the full benefit of it, and apply 

 similar quantities each year to the turnip crop as it comes in rotation. 

 It is not wisdom to apply guanoes to the same land each year in succes- 

 sion without the application of other manures, especially Peruvian 

 guano. Peruvian guano is an ammoniacal manure, and is deficient of 

 phosphate, and therefore repeated manuring with Peruvian guano, with- 

 out the addition of a phosphatic manure, has not been found to act bene- 

 ficially ; so that, in my recommendation of applying guanoes to crops each 

 year, it must be understood that other manures containing phosphate 

 are applied along with the guanoes, or that the different manures are 

 applied in rotation. 



Guano is also very beneficially applied to grasses in a liquid form. 

 It would improve the pasture of many of the home parks of gentlemen's 

 estates if they received a topdressing of guano in a liquid state. For 

 this purpose it must be beat down finely, and then mixed with water 

 in the proportion of one cwt. of guano to five hundred gallons of water, 

 and applied with a liquid-manure cart. 



Both superphosphate and guano have been used in a liquid state in 

 growing root crops with greater success than the dry manure. Mr 

 Pusey records, in the ' Journal of the Eoyal Agricultural Society,' certain 

 experiments he made in order to test the merits of the " water-drill " as 

 compared with the " dry-drill ; " the results as regards a crop of tur- 

 nips being exactly 100 per cent in favour of the water-drill. Drilling- 

 machines for the express purpose of applying artificial manures in a 

 liquid state are manufactured by different implement-makers, and there 

 is every reason to believe, from experiments reported, that the use of 

 the water-drill in dry seasons would frequently prove the cause of the 

 difference between a crop and a total failurp. 



