per ton, or pure bone dust for $40 per ton, 
well rotted stable manure, from horses or 
cows, would be worth from $3 to $3.25 per 
ton. But it would be worth more to the 
grower of corn and of grass, and yet more 
to the gardener on account of the benefi¬ 
cial effect it has upon tbe mechanical con¬ 
dition of the soil. This benefit is positive— 
as positive as the benefit from cultivation— 
because exactly similar in its nature and 
brought about in the same way. Stable 
manure not only puts more plant food into 
the soil, but it puts the soil in such condi¬ 
tion the plants can more readily appropri¬ 
ate the nutriment previously existing in 
the soil. Yet another reason why stable 
manure is of more value than a comparison 
with commercial manures, composition 
being the basis of comparison, would indi¬ 
cate, is that stable manure is a complete 
manure, while commercial manures are 
not. Stable manure contains all the ele¬ 
ments of plant food. This is the reason 
why, if the soil is continuously cropped and 
only commercial manures are applied, the 
soil soon loses its productiveness, no mat¬ 
ter how liberally these manures may be 
used; while if only stable manure is used, 
the soil is much slower to show signs of 
exhaustion. Stable manure is a complete 
manure because a good part of it is organ¬ 
ic. And this is one reason why a crop of 
grass turned under proves so beneficial, es¬ 
pecially when commercial fertilizers are 
mostly used. It makes a complete manure, 
it improves the mechanical texiure of the 
soil, and it introduces into the soil organic 
matter without which plants will not 
thrive. 
Of the commercial manures, Peruvian 
guano meets best the wants of the garden¬ 
er. It not only causes a larger yield, but, 
what is true of all manures, though, to a 
less extent, perhaps, it greatly contributes 
to earliness and good quality. About 1200 
pounds should be used to an acre; this be¬ 
ing at the rate of one pound to each space 
of two yards square. If the guano is used 
alone, it should be sown on the prepared 
ground and at once harrowed in. This, of 
course, applies to broadcast application. 
When the manure is used in drills only, 
from one-tenth to one-third of the quantity 
recommended, should be used per acre, the 
quantity being determined by the distance 
apart which the drills are. Those who de¬ 
sire to manure very heavily, as when the 
land is quite poor, the crop a grass feeding 
one, or an unusually heavy yield is desired, 
will find it best to use stable manure and 
guano in combination. Stable manure and 
guano are used in such proportion that the 
commercial value of the one about equals 
that of the other—say from twenty to 
twenty-five tons of stable manure to one 
ton of Peruvian guano. Spread the stable 
manure on the ground and plow it in; then 
sow the commercial manure and harrow it 
in. Twenty tons of stable manure and one 
ton of guano per acre may be used profit¬ 
ably by gardeners near large cities, where 
good prices and sure demand can be de¬ 
pended on. 
Next to guano, the best commercial fer¬ 
tilizer for the gardener is bone dust. It* 
like guano, may be used alone. But it is 
better to mix either with three times its 
bulk of leaf mold, pulverized dry muck, 
or well pulverized dry stable manure. The 
object of this is to provide a temporary ab¬ 
sorbent; hence, whatever material is used 
with the guano or bone dust, it must be 
dry, and the various ingredients should be 
thoroughly mixed together. 
The gardener has little use for muck ex¬ 
cept to mix with other manures as an ab¬ 
sorbent, or else to apply to the soil to in¬ 
troduce organic matter into it and improve 
its mechanical texture. So far as I liave- 
been able to discover, he has no use what¬ 
ever for salt. Night-soil is valuable when 
mixed with stable manure or some good 
absorbent. But usually the gardener may 
well put his dependence in stable manure, 
Peruvian guano and bone dust, not neglect¬ 
ing to seed the land down to grass once in 
five to seven years. 
Quincy , 111. 
A well-known English clergyman, who had preach¬ 
ed, one morning, in a magnificent New York church, 
watched the congregation defiling out of the aisles. 
“Do American ladies, then, goto some place of 
amusement after church?” he asked. “They are 
dressed for the theater.” 
In walking, the weaker of two persons takes the 
arm of the stronger. This is why dudes always take 
ladies’ arms. 
