140 Guano ; its action upon the growth 



ed fruit for winter use. I picked from all the trees, the 

 apples on which looked as if they might keep well and be 

 good, but I found but this one kind worth propagating. 

 Kext fall I will endeavor to find it out again. If 1 can be 

 of service in the good cause of securing the propagation of 

 the best native fruits, please command me. 

 Very truly yours, 



J. W. Scott. 

 Toledo, 25th Feb., 1844. 



Art. TV. Guano ; its action upon the growth of various 

 Plants, Fruits, Sf^c. By J. E. Teschemacher, Corres- 

 ponding Secretary of the Mass. Hort. Soc. 



I HAVE already stated that I had numerous- experiments 

 in progress which were destroyed by fire : as there is no 

 prospect of my resuming them at present, I will offer a few 

 ideas upon which several of them were based, in order that 

 those who have leisure may pursue them. The ultimate 

 object of vegetable life appears to me to be the production 

 of seed ; — to this purpose, and to accumulate the properties 

 and ingredients for the formation and perfection of this 

 seed, the root, stem, leaf and flower are devoted, each per- 

 forming its destined gradual part, until by their united ef- 

 forts, brought into action by soil, light, heat and moisture, 

 this object is attained ; exterior vegetable action then de- 

 clines until another season. Experiment has shown that 

 plants grown on mere sand, with the assistance of water, 

 will throw out stem, leaf and flower, nay even the forms of 

 seed, but these will be mere integuments, empty vesicles or 

 little bladders — also that by constantly stimulating, with 

 peculiar manure, we can throw plants into such uninter- 

 rupted luxuriance of shoots and foliage, that often the 

 flowers, and more often the seeds, do not appear within the 

 limits of the season. Combining these views with others 

 on the production of double flowers, and with some sug- 

 gested by various experiments on Guano, it seems to me 

 highly probable that certain manures are particularly con- 

 ducive to a luxuriant growth of stem and foliage, while 

 others are peculiarly so to the production of numerous and 



