THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



291 



(May 13th) growing in different parts of the same 

 patch, tobacco plants, on ground in part ""burnt" 

 over as usual, and another part not burnt at all, 

 but guanoed at the rate of 1500 lbs. to the acre. 

 The growth of the plants on the latter part is greatly 

 superior to those of the former. 



[Remark— The usual " burning" over of plant 

 patches has heretofore been deemed almost indis- 

 pensable, and involved the consumption of a great 

 quantity of good wood, as fuel, and much labor — 

 so that even 1500 lbs. of guano, for sucly^iall 

 spaces, will be much cheaper to apply, indepw^nt 

 of the much superior growth from the application 

 of the guano. — E. R.] 



32. Mr. William Say re, of Norfolk county, tried 

 guano alone as the manuring for Irish potatoes. 

 The dressing in large quantity, 500 lbs. to the acre, 

 though on but a small space, for experiment. As 

 in the two other cases before cited, the growth above 

 ground was very great, and the product of potatoes 

 (roots,) remarkably small. But in his larger ge- 

 neral cultivation of this crop, and for several years, 

 he used guano at the rates of 150 to 200 lbs. only, 

 in conjunction with either stable manure, or marsh 

 mud or muck. In this mixture, the product of 

 potatoes was very good, and much better than from 

 the best stable manure alone, tried alongside for 

 comparison. It seemed that something of bulk, 

 however poor as manure, (as the marsh mud cer- 

 tainly is alone,) was necessary for the good effect 

 of the guano. And the mud served as well for this 

 admixture as stable manure — and the mixture of 

 mud and guano was very far more productive than 

 any quantity of stable manure without guano, as 

 appeared from sufiicient trial. 



33. It is generally understood that guano is of 

 less effect in proportion to the fertility of the land — 

 and that on very rich ground, under ordinary field 

 crops, it will rarely be profitable, in the quantities 

 usually applied, of 200 lbs. or less. But it appears 

 that it is highly beneficial and profitable for some 

 garden vegetables, if applied in unusually large 

 quantity. Mr. Sayre cultivates a vegetable or mar- 

 ket farm, which necessarily must be continually 

 bearing successive and often double crops, and must 

 be annually and heavily manured. The principal 

 manure is stable manure, of best quality, costing 

 full S25 the acre for the purchase, transportation, 

 and application. He has found guano, seven hun- 

 dred pounds or more to the acre, to be a cheaper and 

 more profitable manuring. One of sundry such re- 

 sults was the following: This year, his cucumbers 

 on 20 acres were manured v.'ith guano at 500 lbs. 

 to the acre, besides 200 lbs. more to the acre on the 

 same ground, applied in the drill earlier in the 

 same year to peas, which grew on intervening rows, 

 and which evidently had not used aJl that portion. 

 The cucumbers were so benefited that he is certain 

 that the product was increased as much as 200 per 

 cent, above what would have been the ordinary 

 crop without guano. 



[Newark by E. The foregoing facts of re- 

 markable products and profits from the most costly 

 applications of guano, are stated because they are 

 remarkable, as well as being entirely trust-worthy 

 and reliable. But because all the minutes of facts, as 

 yet herein stated show guano to be highly profitable, 



let it not be inferred that it is my purpose to main- 

 10 K 



tain such results to be general. On the contrary, 

 if minutes were offered of the ordinary action and 

 profit of guano in field culture, while numerous 

 facts observed by many different individuals would 

 show either well remunerating or large profits, many 

 other experiments and observations would as clearly 

 show loss instead of profit. So many facts are 

 known by report or otherwise to almost every far- 

 mer, both of profitable and unprofitable applica- 

 tions of guano, that I have not deemed it proper 

 to adduce any such common results of ordinary 

 practice in field culture.] 



Second Sowing of Wheat. 



34. Dr. R. E. Ilaskins, of Brunswick, had sown 

 a rich lot in wheat, in the beginning of October. 

 Either from defective seed or seeding, the plants 

 were not more than half thick enough. On No- 

 vember 10th, five weeks after the first sowing, the 

 lot was re-seeded, with as much more wheat as 

 was wanting. The covering was attempted with a 

 heavy harrow, (Geddes',) — but the land, (stiff soil,) 

 had been made so hard by several rains, that the 

 harrow could not make a sufficient impression on 

 the surface. The trowel-hoe plough w- as then tried, 

 and used throughout. This plough, (without mould- 

 board,) cutting the earth thoroughly, but not much, 

 displacing it, also loosened all the growing wheat, 

 but did not cover up, or throw out the roots of any 

 large proportion of the plants. I^o rain fell for a 

 week later. The first growth of plants generally 

 lived and thrived well, as well as the second. The 

 product of the land was as good as would have 

 been expected from a single sowing. No evil, or 

 apparent difference a,t harvest, was found, as had 

 been feared, of the wheat from the different sow- 

 ings ripening at different times. 



A little later, the like operation, and for like de- 

 fect of plants, was ijerformed on another piece of 

 fresh land and light, porous soil. Part of this re- 

 sowing was covered by the harrow, and part by the 

 trowel-hoe plough. No difference in the effects 

 was seen — and the whole piece, as in the other case, 

 produced an average crop of wheat. 



[To to continued.] 



PROFITS OF SUGAR CULTURE. 



A planter in Louisiana protests against the pro- 

 posed abolition of the duty on imported sugar, and 

 gives his own experience in figures as to the profits. 

 He savs : 



My plantation, with 100 negroes, cost ^160,000 00 

 I made 500 lilids. sugar of fair qualitv, 



sold at 3i cents, - - ^ 16,000 00 



25,000 gallons molasses, 15 cents, 8,500 00 



The annual expenses were 



^19,750 00 

 10,350 72 



Deducted from sale of crop, leaving S0,399 28 

 This, the planter thinks, is not a large profit con- 

 sidering the capital invested. He further says: 



Take the duty oft' sugar, and you bankrupt — nay, 

 ntlerly ruin four-fifths of the sugar planters of this 

 State. Sugar is now cheaper than flour. A barrel 

 of the best sugar, at the present price, say 200 lbs., 

 at 3^ cents, is S'7, while flour, weighing 196 lbs., 

 sells at S8. While the East and the West can ex- 

 change a pound of flour for a pound of sugar, I 

 do not see any great cause of complaint. 



