1 140 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



of organic compounds, which yield up ammonia as they decay. 

 As many of them are easily soluble in water, the decomposition 

 is rapid. About one-fourth of the phosphates also are easily 

 soluble in water ; hence, guano may rank as a quick-acting 

 manure, and, to prevent waste of plant-food, it is best applied 

 in spring, or when plant growth is most active. The insoluble 

 phosphate of lime, forming the bulk of the guano phosphate, 

 is, however, only slow^ly available for plants, being in that respect 

 similar to the phosphate in bone-meal, the benefit of which is 

 only obtained some considerable time after application to the 

 soil. 



Like nitrate of soda and sulphate of ammonia, guano is a 

 manure of quick action, tending to develop rapid growth of the 

 leafy parts of plants. One merit of this manure is that it assures 

 a good start to a young seedling crop. Starting with a fertile 

 soil, such as that of a well-cultivated garden, the efficiency of 

 guano as compared wdth that of farmyard manure of good quality 

 may be estimated to be in the proportion of icwt. of guano to 

 65cwt. to yocwt. of farmyard manure. The difference in the time 

 and labour required for the handling of these two quantities of 

 manure is a point worth considering by those who garden for 

 profit. 



Unadulterated guano has some advantage over most other un- 

 mixed manures containing the same percentages of nitrogen and 

 phosphates, on account of its more complex chemical condition. 

 The manurial constituents are in several different forms, and of 

 different degrees of solubility, so that they supply the plant 

 requirements more slowly and evenly through the period of 

 growth than can be done by manures in which the ingredients 

 are each in some one form of chemical combination. 



It is a case of necessity that the soil to which guano 

 is applied shall be adequately supplied with water. If there 

 is a lack of moisture the components of guano will not 

 dissolve, ferment action cannot take place, and comparatively 

 little effect will be produced by the manure. In dry seasons 

 guano is apt to disappoint expectations w^hen sown to outdoor 

 crops. Its best results are obtained when applied to good moist 

 loams. 



Guano is a capital fertiliser admixed with water (one ounce 

 to I gal. of water), and applied in small quantities pretty 

 frequently in the presence of an abundance of moisture to most 

 garden plants in pot-culture. 



Artificial Guanos. — Artificial imitations of dissolved Peruvian 

 guano are made by mixing sulphate of ammonia with super- 

 phosphate made from phosphatic mineralised guanos and from 

 mineral phosphates. These are guaranteed to contain varying 

 proportions of ammonia and phosphates according to the prices, 

 and if properly made are rapidly - acting fertilisers. These 



