310 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



and that to the last, the first are mainly in- 

 debted for the forces requisite to perfect 

 their destiny. The analogy slops not 

 here — when new organs are formed, they 

 are based upon those previously existing, 

 which are forced to make room for the par- 

 venue, if they do not flee before them at 

 their approach and become annihilated. 

 In festal life the law can be recognized 

 without a shadow of doubt. But what 

 has this to do with guano? 1 will en- 

 deavor to show its connexion with my 

 subject. 



Guanp is a new element of agriculture 

 in North America, and what changes it 

 is destined to produce, time will show. 

 Cotton and potatoes have, done more than 

 the sword in shaping*the institutions and 

 habits of modern nations ; apparently tri- 

 vial objects in our branch of business 

 have accomplished wonderful result?. — 

 Let us look to guano and the mineral 

 manures in general with as close an eye 

 as botanical practitioners of medicine 

 scrutinize the effects of what they are 

 pleased to call poisons on the animal sys- 

 tem. I am prepared to expect new phe- 

 nomena from its use or abuse in accord- 

 ance with its acknowledged power as a 

 stimulant. It is premature to speculate 

 upon any marked peculiarity of its action, 

 but I may be permitted to suggest that if 

 nothing more is gained for a period of 

 years by its proper application, than an 

 extraordinary increase in the quantity of 

 breadstuff's and excellence in their quality, 

 attended by as extraordinary a decrease 

 of labor and expense, we may at this 

 particular juncture of affairs congratu- 

 late ourselves and the world at large — and 

 moreover that if the potato is soon to be 

 ranked among the things that were, 

 (which God forbid,) w r e may confidently 

 promise our foreign customers that a good 

 substitute is Indian Corn, which we in- 

 tend to season highly with guano for 

 their especial appetite and our own parti- 

 cular profit. 



Rob't Serrell Wood. 

 tMi, Herman, near Washington, D. C. 



Tomatoes make excellent preserves. 



TO PREPARE BONES FOR MANURE. 



As mills for grinding bones are very 

 costly, it is a great desideratum for the 

 farmer to know how he can otherwise 

 prepare them for his crops. By the fol- 

 lowing simple method he can reduce them 

 to a fine powder and increase their value 

 four fold : 



Take one hundred pounds of bones and 

 place them in a kettle, or in an old tub un- 

 fit for further use, or even in a hollow 

 scooped in the ground, and made tight, by 

 lining with clay. Next take from ihirty- 

 ty to thirty-five pounds of oil of vitriol 

 (sulphuric acid,) mixed with one-third to 

 one-half its weight of water, and pour 

 over the bones. In a day or two, the 

 bones will dissolve into a liquid paste, to 

 which there must be added, by stirring in 

 wood ashes or fine mould, until it is of the 

 consistency of thick mortar. Put the 

 mixture under cover out of the way of 

 rain, and in a few weeks it will become 

 a light dry powder, which may be ap- 

 plied by the hand or otherwise, to any 

 kind of land that may require it. In pre- 

 paring this mixture, great care must be 

 observed to keep the oil of vitriol from 

 touching the clothes or skin, as it will 

 burn them as badly as fire. 



The oil of vitriol, for this mixture, must 

 be of a first rate quality, otherwise it 

 would require a greater quantity than 

 given above to dissolve one hundred lbs. 

 of bones. The mixture answers best for 

 a turnip crop; but it is highly valuable 

 for other roots as well as for grass and 

 grain. It should be applied at the rate of 

 twenty to forty bushels to the acre, sown 

 broadcast on grass land, in the spring, or 

 on grain and tnrnip crops after harrowing 

 in the seed. For gardens or field crops 

 planted in rows or drills, as roots, corn, 

 beans, peas, &c, it may be applied in 

 the hills or rows at the time of sowing, or 

 it may be afterwards sprinkled around the 

 plants at the time of hoeing. — American 

 Farmer. 



Avoid a low and damp site for the dwell- 

 ing house. 



