360 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



MAY 15,1SU, 



AND HORTICt'LTLRAL RKGISTER. 



Edited by Josepll BrccU. 



Boston, Wednesday, Mat 15, 1844. 



19 



581 



64 



ANALYSKS OF AFRICAN AND PERUVIAN 



GUAiNO. 

 Mr Breck — Having received from Authentic sources, 

 gpeciniens cf llio Peruviuu and African guano, I li;ive 

 made coinpariMive analysus of tiiein, and 1 llirow the 

 results into this form for llio sake of being better under- 

 stood I'} igriculturisiH, atttiougli it exinbits lint u small 

 portion of llie labor 1 have bestowed on lliis complica- 

 ted substance : — 



PcTuvian. Jlfrican. 

 ptr itnl. per cent 

 Dried in a water batli (temperature 



10S°,) one hour, - - loses 10| 



(This loss is chiefly moisture ) 

 Dissolved in cold water — that is, 



washed until the water showed no 



reaction by cheniica! tests — loses 62^ 



(This loss is soluble salt«, cliiefly 



of ammonia, with a little sea-salt; 



and al liough there appears mrtre 



of lhe^o in ihe Peruvian ihan the 



Africa.i, yet if the excess of mois- 

 ture in the latter be token into ac- 

 count, the quantities are nearly 



the same.) 

 Heated to ledness for twenty min- 

 utes, .... loses 54i 



(This loss is the volatile sails of 



amm. lia and the organic matter.) 

 This third experiment was extended 



in order to separate the volatile 



salts from the organic matter : the 



result was — organic, - - 24 



Volatile, - - 304 



Deduct '''om this 49| the 9 per cl. 



excess of moisture in the first ex- 



periiio nt, and we have still 10 



per cerit. volatile (ammoniacal) 



salts in favor of the African. 



In fo'ir expcrimenis with each, the amount of pbos- 

 phate of lime and magnesia fluctuated in both, finm 10 

 to II percent. I found, also, small proportions of oxal- 

 ate of lime, sulphates and sea-salt, with a trifle of s.tnd. 



1 am aware that my analyses differ somewhat from 

 those made in England, France, and Germany, but not 

 more th.in these differ from each other ; nor is this at all 

 surprising — for several of ilie ingredients of this manure 

 are only now beginning to receive thai atleniiun from 

 chemists which i- ill enable them to analyze it in the 

 perlectioii required by science. On this subject, see the 

 late Transactions of the Chemical Society of Lonrlon. 



Mr Davy, of England, does not find urea in the Afri- 

 can guano. l:i my sample, I believe there are strong rn. 

 diealions ol it, although 1 have not siifjicicntly studied 

 this part of the subject ; but this ingredient so easily un- 

 dergoes change, that a difl'erence of this kind is not im- 

 probable ?till, urea as forming carbonate of ammonia 

 and oxalates, is a valuable substance to ngricullurc. 1 

 believe tloit the African is the most recent lormaiion, 



! have furnished some irf both k<iids of uiinnri to a 

 friend, who has put ihem to the only true test in com- 

 parison with each other — that is, the production of vege- 

 tation — itnd 1 hope this autumn to hand you the results 

 of these cx|,eriments. which are proceeding wilh the ut- 

 most ultcniion to all concomitant circunislnnces. 



49| 



In the meaniime, I can only slate my pnsenl impres- 

 sion, that the African guano will be found equally bene- 

 ficial lo agriculliire as Iho Peruvian. 



I should be unwilling lo add lo the 1 ibors or expendi- 

 ture ol our Agricultural Societies, but as the trade with 

 Africa seems to centre here, would it not be wise in 

 thim to offer a premium for the first two or three car- 

 goes of guano brnuglit here direct, us well as. for the 

 b>'st inslitnied experimenis with it. There is cerlainly 

 weight of evidence enough in existence to prove its 

 greal importance as a manure. On this subjecl, I beg 

 toaiate thai I have not the slightest pecuniary interest in 

 any such carg'«3, nor have I any exjierimenls on hand. 

 1 have only exerled myself in instigating nihers. 



Yours, J. E. TESCHEMACHER. 



Boston, May II, 1844. 



CATERPILLARS. 



We noiice an abundance of these disgusting and vo- 

 racious insects upon our apple, wild cherry, and oiher 

 trees, and have seen many larrncrs busily employed in 

 their destruction wilh that effective and simple instru- 

 ment, "Pickering's brush." We have also noticed that 

 in many orchards no efixirl has been made to check their 

 ravages, and the trees will soon be despoiled of iheir 

 beauty. Unless this business is speedily attended to, it 

 will be too late, if it isnol even now, and there will bo 

 no lack of seed for another year. 



In one of ihe March numbers of the Farmer, a corn 

 cob lied to a pole, was recommended as being equally 

 efficacious as the brush above mentioned, for the destruc- 

 lion of (atcr)iillar nests. This, a gentleman tells us, is 

 « great mistake. The brush can be obtained al our of- 

 fice al 2.5 cents. A boy will earn the price of the brush 

 twice over in a day, and clear twice the number of trees 

 he would with a cob. 



INJURING FRUIT TREES. 



There are some (and too many) heedless people, old 

 as "ell as young, who are disposed when passing fruit 

 trees in blossom by Ihe road-side, to break off a portion 

 of the blanches, for the sake of the flowers. Now, the 

 motize which induces this act, may be very commenda- 

 ble ; but if they reflected that the owner had to suffer 

 by their gratification, it might, perhaps, abate their pro- 

 pensity, or restrain the indulgence of it. There is some 

 excuse for this conduct in tho young, — but for those 

 who have, or should have, arrived at " years of discre 

 lion," there is not a whit of palliation They shouhl 

 consider that by this act of breaking off the branches 

 they <leprive tbo tree of a portion of its fruit-bearing 

 properties, — and this, viewed in its true light, is not a 

 less — is it not a more flagrnnt ■ — violation of the laws of 

 meum and tuum, than the slealing of ihe ripened fruit. 

 Lit those who have sinned in this line, pray for " en- 

 lightened consciences " and " sin no more." 



VALUE OF LIQUID MANURE. 

 Wfi commend to the atteniion of our readers, tlie arti- 

 cle on another page detailing the results of experiments 

 wilh manures, by which it appears iliat the diluted 

 diuinings ol the farm-yard excelled in Iheir effect ihe 

 highly extolled guano, giving a product of 52 1-2 while 

 the latter gave but 50 bushels of barley per acre. When 

 will our farmers generally be convinced of ilie value of 

 liquid manure, and adopt proper means to save it .^ Sure- 

 ly, it should no moie he suffered lo run to waste than if 

 it were filled wilh gold sand. 



[Ij"The favor of Dr. Dana, for which he has our 

 thanks, was received too late for inserlion in this No. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



EUROPFAK AgRICULTURF. AND RdRAL ErO.NOMV. 



HtSRY Coi.MAN. Vol. I, Part 1. To be complet 

 in 10 numbers. 



'Pile first pirlof Mr Colman's long expected work li 

 just come to hand. It la in octavo form, and very liaii 

 somely executed. This is all wo can now say in 

 praise, as we have not yel had lime In peruse it. Pre 

 the well-known abilities ol its author, lio«e\ei-, ue m, 

 presume that none will be disappointed in the cli.inci 

 of the work. A fiirlher noiice and extract in a IlI>: 

 number. Subscriptions received at tho ofiiee of the 

 E. Farmer, and by Mr A. D Phelps, Washington 

 Terms, .•gO on delivery of the first No., and ihe rem«i 

 der at intervals between that time and the complslii 

 of the work. 



" The Silk Qui:stion Settled. Report of the Pi 



ceedings of the National Convention of Silk Orowe 

 and Silk Manufacturers, held in New York, Oi:I. 13 

 and I4lh, 1843. Second edition, with additions." 



This interesting report has been slereolvped and ll 

 price reduced, that it may have a geneial circulatii 

 throughout the country. The funds were ra'-i d to a 

 cnm(>lish this by a few public-spirited indivir' :als 

 Boston and vicinity, and by a donation from th. .Mass 

 chusetls Agricultural Society, to whom the fronds 

 the silk cause acknowledge their indebtedness, Tl 

 report has been corrected, some parts abridged, new mi 

 ter added, as an appendix, and an an index of subjec 

 prepared. The publisher, T. R. Marvin, 24 C ngre 

 will fill orders, wilh cash accompanying, as follo>is! 

 GO copies for |;5 00 



130 " " 10 00 



,1000 " " 70 00 



Any number less than CO copies, JO cents each, if if 

 order comes free of expense. We shall extract froi 

 tho WDjk at some future time. 

 Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patent 



We are indebted to the Commissioner of Intents f 

 the annual report of 1843. It embraces a lar™ amoui 

 of agricultural staiisiics and facts, collected from evei 

 part of the country, many of which are new and highl 

 interesting These with other documents, compose 

 volume of 330 pages. 



We have received from the publisher, John Owei 



Cambridge, an agreeable lillle work entitled, " Swei 



Aiibuin and Mount Auburn, wilh other Poems," li 

 Caroline F. Orne. 



MASS. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

 exhibition of flowers. 



SaluTtlay, May II, 1844. 



From Wm. Kenrick — a basket of beautiful iloweri 



arranged with much taste by Miss Russell; — also, fin 



Bouquets, embracing most of the hardy flowers pf ih 



season. 



From Miss Sumner — two handsume Bouquets, coni 

 posod of green-house flowers. 



From Samuel Walker — two fine Bouquets of hard 

 flowers. 



From Madam Eigelow, Medford — a branch of the nev 

 While Double-flowering Peach. 



For the Committee, J. BRECK, C/m'n. 



exhibition of fruits. 

 Grapes, from the garden of Mrs. Howard, Woodland 

 Brookline, by her giidencr, Mr James Nugent — vii 

 Black Hamburg and Sweetwater. 



For the Committee, S. WALKER, Chm'n. 



(□"Sprinkling Gooseberry and Currant bushes willi 

 soap-suds is recommended lo prevent mildew. 



