VALUE AND DURABILITY OF PERUVIAN GUANO. 
181 
ble to gapes about a new building, especially 
on newly-cleared land. There is something 
about fresh land congenial to the health of 
poultry. I have thought it might be animal 
food in the shape of insects, &c, or that it might 
be rotten wood. Be this as it may, I am fully 
satisfied that the disease is not dyspepsia, from 
the fact that I have seen it cured in five minutes. 
At the house of an acquaintance, in a village a 
short distance from my residence, when a 
chicken, nearly as large as a robin, was sent 
in from a neighbor, in the last stage of the gapes. 
I asked the lady if she could cure it. She said 
she had cured many, but that looked like a 
hopeless case. However, she would try. She 
took the chicken in her lap, drew a feather 
from its wing, stripped it to within about half 
an inch of the point, turned the chicken on its 
back, with one portion of the bill between her 
thumb and finger, while a little girl held the 
other; she then run the feather down its 
throat and gave it a quick twist and jerk, and 
drew out a red, wiry worm about an inch 
long. The poor thing seemed nearly exhausted, 
but in less than a minute, it gave a kind of cough 
or two, and discharged a small quantity of blood, 
and in five minutes was eating, and to all ap- 
pearance, perfectly restored. Several others of 
my acquaintance practise the same mode with 
success. 
This is the disease, and one of the remedies ; 
but what should cause it in one locality and not 
in another, is more than I can divine. Lime 
water, and coarsely-ground corn are considered 
by some persons, as a partial preventive. 
Kent County, Del, April, 1850. C. 
VALUE AND DURABILITY OF PERUVIAN GUANO. 
Most farmers who have not fully tested the val- 
ue of guano, as a manure, doubt the continuance 
of its effects much beyond the first season. All 
seem willing to admit its great superiority over 
every other purchasable manure, an opinion 
that will be fully corroborated by both the fol- 
lowing experiments, which have the endorsement 
of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 
for their correctness. The first, while show- 
ing an increase of crop for the first year, of 80 
per cent, over two other manures, and of 200 
per cent, over two others, gave an increase of 
crop over the average of the other manures of 
53 per cent, the second, and more than 28 per 
cent, the third year after application, all the 
manures costing the same price. The result 
might not have been so much in favor of the 
guano for the second and third years, had farm- 
yard manure been used ; but it is perfectly con- 
clusive as to the durability of the guano, beyond 
even the second year. I hope we may have, 
to record, ere long, some reliable experiments 
from our own farmers on this important subject. 
The field on which the first experiment was 
made, was an acre of inferior pasture land, in 
Stover Park, in the years 1847, 1848, and 1849. 
It is of uniform quality, the soil being a light, 
sandy loam, a few inches in depth, incumbent 
on a stratum of white clay. 
The land underwent thorough draining, in 
1844, prior to which, it would not produce a 
rent of more than 5s. an acre. 
No manures were applied to the land in 1848 
nor 1849. 
The object sought to be attained by extend- 
ing the experiment over a period of three years, 
was to test the durability of the different manures. 
Manures applied in 1847. 
Six cubic yards of mud 
mixed with six cwt. of salt 
Six cubic yards of mud 
mixed with 1^ hogsheads 
of lime 
Six cubic yards of mud 
mixed with three bushels 
of bonedust 
Three cubic yards of mud 
mixed with three cubic 
yards of tanyard refuse. . 
Six cubic yards of mud 
mixed with 90 lbs. of 
Peruvian guano 
Weight 
of hay 
cut in 
1847. 
Weight 
of hay 
cut in 
1848. 
Weight 
of hay 
cut in 
1849. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
lbs. 
312 
327 
613 
353 
337 
538 
511 
419 
670 
524 
354 
558 
930 
550 
725 
Cost 
of the 
Manures 
£. s. d. 
14 
13 6 
14 3 
14 
14 
N. B. The after grass, in 1847, was stocked with sheep, but in 
1848, it was left unconsumed, one fifth of an acre only, being 
appropriated to each manure. 
The manures, when mixed with a small quan- 
tity of fine earth, were applied broadcast in 
No, 2, March 29th 1849, and during rainy weather 
which prevailed at the time. 
The field is of a fair average quality, and was 
formerly used as tillage land, but has been in 
pasture for many years. 
The crops were mown June 22nd, and the 
herbage, produced by the different manures, was 
of a superior quality. 
Manures applied. 
None 
Superphosphate of lime 
Nitrate of soda 
Peruvian guano 
Quantity 
Weight 
Weight 
applied 
of hay 
cut per 
per acre. 
cut. 
acre. 
cwt. 
lbs. 
401 
1,604 
9 
616 
2,460 
4 
706 
2,824 
6 
1,210 
4,840 
Cost of 
the 
Manures 
per acre. 
£. s. d. 
3 12 
3 12 
3 12 
PROFITABLE DOGS. 
I see you ask for the profit of dogs. Here it 
is. I work 37 field hands, and nine women out 
doors, and I keep about half as many dogs. I 
don't know which earn the most, niggers or 
dogs, (as I come out about squar at the end of 
the year,) but I do know that I ain't troubled 
with my neighbors' sheep as I once was ; for 
you must know I would go as far out of my way 
to kick a sheep, as John Randolph, and the dogs, 
I reckon, will go fifty times as far to kill one. 
The only real trouble I have had, was, when my 
big mastiff, Grizzly Barr, I paid $75 for, run 
mad, and bit nine of my blood and fox hounds, 
that cost me nigh on $ 500, three bull dogs, and 
four of my best field hands, 1 had refused $750 
apiece for. But I consider everybody must 
make some sacrifice for his country and human- 
ity, as our Arkansas boys did when they left 
their diggins to lick the Mexicans. So I con- 
clude I won't care. Bob Bluff. 
Catamount Hollar, Arkansas, May, 1850. 
