294 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



water, and the other materials moistened. In 

 a few days such a heat will be generated in the 

 heap as to render it unbearable by the hand. 

 As the wet side of the heap will not be heated 

 so much, it should be covered with sand. Whe- 

 ther the heat should be allowed to die out be- 

 fore the heap is used is a point still unascer- 

 tained, but a large heap makes better manure 

 than a small one ; so do unboiled bones and 

 fresh ones than boiled and stale ones. Large 

 bones may be reduced by fermentation in this 

 way, by turning the heap over at the end of a 

 fortnight and watering it afresh, and at the end 

 of a month very few whole bones will remain." 

 This is important to those living remote from 

 bone-mills, and might be taken advantage of 

 where dog-kennels are maintained, for the pre- 

 paration of the bones of dead carcases used for 

 the dogs' food. 



Blood is a powerful manure, and has been 

 beneficially applied to fruit trees, particularly 

 the mulberry and vine. In general, it is formed 

 into a compost with earthy or vegetable matter. 



Animal bodies— Of all manures, animal sub- 

 stances, when well prepared, are the most power- 

 ful promoters of vegetation. " In that state," 

 Mr Donaldson remarks, "almost the whole 

 body becomes volatile, and so far attenuated, 

 subtilised, and refined, as to be rendered cap- 

 able of entering the vessels of the minutest 

 plants. So soon as the parts are sufficiently 

 divided to be mixed with the earthy materials, 

 the process of preparation must go on quickly ; 

 and as soon as incorporation has been effected, 

 the application must not be long delayed, in or- 

 der to prevent the great loss of bulk that will 

 ensue from the rapid decay of the many com- 

 plex elementary substances which compose the 

 organisation of the bodies." A few years ago, 

 Mr Koberts, author of an excellent treatise on 

 the vine, brought the use of carrion, or animal 

 manures, before the notice of the public, and 

 employed it largely in the preparation of fruit- 

 tree borders. Of its advantages as a powerful 

 fertiliser there can be no doubt. There is, how- 

 ever, something loathsome in the application. 

 When formed into a compost, slaked lime may 

 be mixed with the heap just before it is to be 

 used, and, by combining with the other ingre- 

 dients, will quicken their action, and add a soapy 

 and very valuable quality to the compost. 



The dung of birds, either domesticated or wild, 

 affords one of the most powerful of all manures. 

 That of pigeons is the most common in use, 

 merely because it can be procured in the greater 

 quantity. That of domestic poultry is equally 

 efficacious. All are excellent for root crops ; 

 and carrots grown with no other manure than 

 pigeons' dung have yielded heavy crops, and 

 free from the attacks of insects. It is an ex- 

 cellent manure for pot plants, but requires to 

 be used sparingly. We use it extensively in 

 pine culture, for camellias, oranges, &c. ; and 

 for most rapid-growing plants we use it in a 

 liquid state. Pigeons' dung is hot and stimu- 

 lating, abounding in the volatile alkaline prin- 

 ciple. The fresher it is applied the better, as 

 long keeping, and especially fermentation, of 

 which it is very susceptible, diminishes the 



amount of soluble matter. Its principal part 

 is carbonate of ammonia, leaving a consider- 

 able residue of carbonate of lime and common 

 salt. The dung of domestic poultry differs only 

 from it in containing a greater portion of silica. 



Rabbit's and deer's dung is considered even 

 superior to that of pigeons and poultry, and 

 like that should be used while fresh, and in 

 small quantities, when employed as a simple ; 

 and when used as a compound, mixed with equal 

 parts of earth to correct its fiery and corrosive 

 fermentation. It forms an excellent top-dress- 

 ing or mulching for all sorts of rapid-growing 

 pot plants, and may be laid on the surface of 

 the soil in pots to the thickness of half an inch. 



Guano is the accumulation of the excrements 

 of sea-fowl, found in great quantities in situa- 

 tions where these birds congregate. It has been 

 used by the Peruvians for ages. It was first 

 made known to Europeans in 1804 by speci- 

 mens sent over by Baron Humboldt. It was 

 afterwards mentioned by Sir H. Davy and Sir 

 Joseph Banks ; and about thirty years from its 

 first importation by Humboldt, it began to at- 

 tract considerable notice in Europe. Various 

 analyses of it have been published; but, in con- 

 sequence of the extent to which adulteration 

 has been carried, these tests can be of little ge- 

 neral advantage. The component soluble parts 

 of genuine guano are, muriate of ammonia, 

 phosphate of ammonia, sulphate of ammonia, 

 sesqui-carbonate of ammonia, oxalate of am- 

 monia, with about equal quantities of water, 

 and soluble organic matter, and urea. The 

 constituent insoluble matters rather exceed the 

 soluble, and of these urate of ammonia and 

 sub- phosphate of lime form by far the largest 

 portion. This manure, before using, should be 

 kept as dry and as little exposed to the air as 

 possible ; hence, for horticultural purposes, 

 where no large quantities are required at a 

 time, but the applications are frequent, it is 

 best kept in casks. It is an excellent stimu- 

 lating manure, beneficial to almost all garden 

 crops, and is found of much service when mixed 

 with composts for pot plants. Water is neces- 

 sary to bring its fertilising powers into action ; 

 a circumstance which appears to be well under- 

 stood by the Peruvians, who never omit giving 

 water whenever it is applied to the roots of 

 plants. In dry soils, during dry weather, it is 

 not active in its effects; but when applied to 

 growing crops in a liquid state, its effects are 

 speedy and obvious. Indeed, we seldom water 

 any plant or crop, which we wish to stimulate 

 rapidly, without mixing guano with the water. 

 Like bone-dust, it is better adapted to light soils 

 than to strong clays ; and its effects are much 

 more obvious in dry and warm climates than in 

 cold and wet ones. In the present adulterated 

 state of guano, it is absurd to lay down rules as 

 to the quantity to be applied to a given space. 

 Such rules have been promulgated with ap- 

 parently great care ; but, we fear, in many 

 cases, not taking into account that not two 

 samples of guano are found to agree in their 

 constituents. Colour is no test, and even weight 

 is not to be depended upon. The following 

 simple test was published by " The Times' Cor- 



