378 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



For the New England Farmer, 



GUANO. 



Mr Editor — Mr Teschemacher has lain the pub- 

 lic under obligations to liini forliis interesting coin- 

 niiinications on the use of that important article, 

 Guano. 



Dr. S. L. Dana, in his interesting ".Miick .Man- 

 ual," inforn)s us that there are three varieties of 

 guano known in trade ; that the most recent is the 

 best; that the white is the most recent : the red- 

 dish brown the most ancient, and the dark grey in- 

 termediate between the two. 



Now, Mr Editor, as one kind of guano is sup- 

 posed to be stronger and more valuable than anoth- 

 er, will yon have the goodness to ask Mr Tesche- 

 macher to be kind enough to tell us through the 

 columns of the N. E. Farmer, which of the varie- 

 ties of guano he used in his experiments, when, 

 though some ofhi-i seeds were killed by the strength 

 of the manure, the seeds which were not killed, 

 made such a luxuriant crop.' 

 Yours, with respect, 



A COHBTANT RrADER. 



For the New England Farmer. 



PROFITS PER ACRE OF EIGHT CROPS. 

 Mr Breck— Dear Sir— The following explana- 

 tion, which has been crowded out of place by a 

 number of other matters, is now at your service. 

 If you think it has been too long neglected to 

 merit a place at this time in your valuable paper, 

 just throw it aside. 



In my communication on the right use of ma- 

 nures, which was published in the N. E. Farmer, of 

 27th March last, my account of the net profits per 

 acre on eight crops, which grew in consequence 

 of one manuring with fish, seems to be thought 

 somewhat ambiguous, and not easily understood. 

 Therefore, permit mo to say, by way of explana- 

 tion, that when I stated that " these eight crops, 

 after deducting all expenses for rent, and for culti- 

 vation, gave a net profit at the rate of about .$100 

 per acre," I meant to be understood, and I supposed 

 I should be understood, that the eight crops col- 

 Uclively gave a total amount of about .f 100 net gain 

 1. r acre. This would be an average of about 

 $12 50 net gain annually per acre, during the 8 

 years in wliich the crops were taken. It may per- 

 haps be right to add, that the land in the next ad- 

 joining lot and of about the same value with this 

 before it was manured, has been several times ap- 

 praised for only about $\0 per acre. I will also 

 just add, that under the head of cuZ/irdli'on, I in- 

 cluded tha expense of the fish with which the land 

 was manured. So that the net gain on those eight 

 crops which grew in those eight years, was more 

 than double the original price of the manure, to- 

 gether with the land on which the crops grew, and 

 the land was left better at the end of "the eight 

 years than it was at the beginning. This I think 

 would not have been the case if the land had had 

 the same amount of manure divided into different 

 parts, and applied in different years, even if exact- 

 ly the same amount of manure had been applied in 

 the eight years. For if the manure had been 

 spread on the surface, a great part of it would have 

 been lost in the atmosphere, and if it had bren 

 plowed in at different times, then the expense of so 

 many plowings would have absorbed a great part, 

 if not the whole of what is now net gain. 



Yours, respectfully, ASA M. HOLT. 



E. Haddam, CI., May 23(/, 1844. 



MAY 89, 1844. 



Communicated. 



Dr. Asa .M. Holt, of East Haddam, respectfully 

 tenders his thanks to Dr. C. T. Jackson, for the 

 valuable and interesting communication,' on the 

 manufacture of artificial Guano, which Dr. Jackson 

 has so generously published in the columns of the 

 N. E. Farmer. But as the humate of potash, and 

 the apocrenale of ammonia, bolii of which enter 

 the composition of Dr. Jackson's guano, are neither 

 of them found at our stores. Dr. Jackson is request- 

 ed to have the goodness to give the public a fur- 

 ther benefit, by publishing in detail in the N. E. 

 Farmer, his method of preparing both of the above 

 nnmed articles. 



East Haddam, Conn., May 23d, 1844. 



Ptach Tree fForm—M. Flngg, in the Plowboy, 

 says : 



"Much has been said and written respecting the 

 worm which is so destructive to our peach trees. 

 Now my object is not so much to point out a pre- 

 ventive as a cure, of which, after eight years' trial, 

 I can speak with some degree of assurance. It 

 consists in the following simple method: In the 

 spring, after the frost is out of the ground, I lay 

 bare the trunk of the tree at the roots, then pour on 

 from two to four gallons of boiling soap-suds, tak- 

 ing care so to remove the earth as to retain the 

 boiling suds around the tree; then immediately 

 replace the earth. I usually perform the same op- 

 eration again in August ; and once a year I scrub 

 the entire trunk of the tree with strong soap-suds ; 

 this method I consider much better than diccrincr 

 away the earth, and probing with a penknife, as il 

 takes comparatively but littlu time, and is much 

 more certain. Many persons might be deterred 

 from trying this method, fearing that it would in- 

 jure or destroy the tree; but I can safely say I 

 have never known a single instance where the tree 

 sustained the least injury. I have sold peaches 

 for four dollars a bushel the subsequent fall after 

 the operation." 



From the London Gardener's Chronicle. 



SALT AS MANURE. 

 Amongst the many manures strongly recommen- 

 ded to farmers, few are more highly lauded than 

 common salt ; which, it is stated, supplies to crops all 

 that they require, being at the same time the cheap- 

 est, most effectual, and most universal of all known 

 manures. As to the practical evidence on which 

 such assertions are based, I will say nothing; well 

 authenticated facts are always valuable, and we 

 tnay form our own conclusions from them ; the ad- 

 vocates of salt as a manure are, however, not 

 satisfied with stating simple facts respecting its 

 use, but theorize as to the probable manner in 

 which it may act, and endeavor to prove by those 

 theories, its excellence as a manure. Two chemi- 

 cal reasons are advanced to prove the value of 

 common salt as a fertilizer. It is stated that salt 

 fixes ammonia; and secondly, that when decom- 

 posed by ammonia, alkali is set free, which 

 greatly increases the fertility of the soil. In the 

 Gardener's Chronicle for J 843, No. 8, I made some 

 observations on the action of salt on carbonate of 

 ammonia, my object being to show, that the asser- 

 tion that salt was one of the best fixers of ammo- 

 nia, was not supported by chemical facts ; but that, 

 on the contrnry, it is highly improbable that salt 

 could bo used for that purpose, although true that 

 under particular circumstances salt and carbonate 



of ammonia partially decompose each other. A 

 the subject is again exciting a good deal of intei 

 est, I am induced to make a few farther observi 

 tions on the subject, more especially in respect t 

 the second assertion, that salt, whe'n decompose 

 by carbonate of ammonia, furnishes alkali to planti 

 There can be no doubt that in some situationi 

 on particular soils, and applied to particular crop, 

 salt in moderate quantity is an excellent manure- 

 abundant evidence of this is given in the writini; 

 of those who have studied the effects of manures 

 but at the same tune there are many cases in whic 

 its application has done no good, and indeed some 

 times produced evil effects. In many case 

 no doubt, these effects were the result of to 

 large an application of salt, whilst in others th 

 nature of the soil was such as to render the salt o 

 no value. 



In the following observations, my object is nc 

 in any way to discourage the employment of sail 

 but merely to point out the questionable nature o 

 the scientific reasons in favor of its applicalior 

 which are made use of by its advocate.-;. Whei 

 very strong solutions of common salt and carbon 

 ate of ammonia are mixed at low temperaturee-i 

 they slowly and imperfectly decompose each other 

 and a quantity of bi-carbonale of soda and muri 

 ate of ammonia are formed, whilst a portion o 

 ammonia is set free. The bi-carbonaie of soda be 

 iiig almost insoluble in the solution of the rnuriati 

 of ammonia, may be separated and obtained pure 

 whilst the muriate of ammonia may be obtain 

 ed by evaporating the solution and separating it fron 

 undecomposed common salt, and free ammonia. If 

 in place of separating the two substances, a quantitj 

 of water is added, the bi-carbonate of soda dis. 

 solves and the two salts re-decompose each other 

 common salt and carbonate of ammonia being form- 

 ed. In the same way, if solutions of carbonate oi 

 bi-carbonate of soda be mixed with solution of mu- 

 riate of ammonia, they mutually decompose each 

 other, and form carbonate of ammonia and com- 

 mon salt. 



It is perfectly true that very strong solutions of 

 bi-carbonate of ammonia and common salt decom- 

 pose each other, and that common carbonate of am- 

 monia decomposes solution of salt, when carbonic 

 acid is passed through it; but it is equally true 

 that this only holds good when the solutions are 

 concentrated ; if dilute, no such change takes place. 

 When salt is employed as manure it is exposed to 

 the action of a very dilute solution of carbonate of 

 ammonia, for dew and rain-water contain a minute 

 quantity of that salt ; under these circumstances 

 it is not to be expected that the salt will be de- 

 composed; and it is not reasonable to compare 

 what takes place in strong solutions in close ves.i 

 sels, with what takes place in the open air with 

 abundance of water. We can only compare the 

 action of rain-water on salt, to the action of very 

 dilute solution of salt and carbonate of ammonia, 

 and such solutions do not decompose each other. 

 Although chemical facts are certainly against the 

 decomposition of salt by carbonate of ammonia, 

 or the fixation of ammonia by common salt, yet 

 this in no way diminishes the value of the salt ap- 

 plied as manure. 



It has been assumed that salt cannot act benefi- 

 cially on vegetation except it be previously decom- 

 posed, but there appears very little proof of the truth 

 of this assertion. Even supposing it proved that 

 salt must be decomposed, it is yet by no means 

 impossible that this decomposition is effected after 



