GUANO. 
93 
ly, turn hard, and produce no material advantage: 
when set properly it will grind about eight bushels 
per hour. 
4. See that the gudgeons are kept oiled with best 
lamp or SAveet oil. 
5. The proper speed to drive this machine is two 
hundred and fifty revolutions per minute, which can¬ 
not be accomplished except by horse-power. Two 
men can work it if the screws are slackened; the 
speed and grinding, however, will be slow, and the 
performance in proportion. 
6. If the band stretches and becomes slack, move 
the crusher farther off. 
7. Should the knife clog up and fail to operate, it 
may be cleaned out with the fingers, a stick or point¬ 
ed iron. Should the plates clog (which may be the 
case if damp corn is ground), remove the band-pulley 
and the cap that covers the plates, and briskly rub 
through them a fiat brush or stick. 
Price, wfith ope set extra plates, $30. 
R. Sinclair, Jr., & Co. 
Baltimore , 3Id., Feb. 13, 1845. 
GUANO. 
Advantages of Guano, fyc.—Necessity of Fixed 
Prices .—I have read with much interest the Essay 
of Dr. Gardner on Guano, and beg leave to express 
my thanks for its publication, as also for the other 
contributions he has made to the cause of agriculture. 
1 am unable, however, to coincide with him in opi¬ 
nion, that farmers should not become purchasers of 
guano, valuable as he admits it to be as a fertilizer. 
They are already, and will no doubt continue for a 
long time to come, purchasers of other fertilizing 
substances. Plaster , for instance, has for a long 
number of years been extensively used in various 
parts of our country, not always with profitable re¬ 
sults. Clover seed, too, which may be regarded as 
an indirect fertilizer, is an article, in the purchase of 
which large sums are annually expended. In other 
forms, particularly in the vicinity of towns, the intro¬ 
duction of extraneous aid to the fertility of our soils 
has become a somewhat general practice. In the 
present state of agriculture then, the wisest policy 
would seem to be to encourage the making of such 
outlays as will yield the highest interest on the in¬ 
vestment, and enable the farmer to prosecute the 
work of improvement which he has commenced. If 
guano, applied to a field of wheat in the fall or 
spring, will give an increased product equivalent to 
the cost of the manure, and at the same time secure 
the crop of clover, the farmer would unquestionably 
be a gainer; for a most important means of future 
improvement will at once have been obtained, and 
when the crop of clover is thus secured, clover seed 
for future use may be considered as secured also. 
Every farmer looks upon his soil as in the safe line 
of improvement, when he can get his clover fields to 
flourish. Will plaster, or putrescent manures in any 
quantity he can reasonably hope to make, produce 
this result with ,any certainty ? Plaster certainly 
augments the vegetable growth where it acts favora¬ 
bly, but not the quantity of seed in the same propor¬ 
tion, if at all. For this reason, those who use plas¬ 
ter are almost always purchasers, instead of growers, 
of clover seed; and after the lapse of a few years, 
more or less, the plaster ceases entirely to act, and 
the clover to grow. 1 would therefore respectfully 
submit whether it would not be better to promote the 
use of guano on such of our lands as stand in need 
of foreign aid ? If lime, or marl, or ashes, were at 
hand, there would be less necessity to seek for other 
substances, farther than the land could supply within 
its own limits—such as litter, woods-earth, grass, 
clover, &c., in addition to the manure heap. Even 
then, guano would expedite the work of improve¬ 
ment. But in the absence of those bases of sure and 
permanent fertility, guano might be most profitably 
used on a large proportion of our poor soils, either in 
combination with plaster, or as a substitute for it— 
much more expensive, it is true, but far more certain 
and powerful in its effects. 
But then the question may arise, is not the value 
of guano overrated ? Can it be relied on to produce 
the astonishing effects which have been recorded of 
it? On this subject every farmer is competent to 
form a correct judgment, after carefully examining 
the testimony which has been published. In Eng¬ 
land and France it has been in use to a great extent; 
accurate and multiplied experiments have been made, 
and the results laid before the public. No more de¬ 
cisive evidence could be adduced on any doubtful oi 
controverted point, and by common consent the prac¬ 
tices of English agriculturists are entitled to great 
weight in our own country. 
The chief object, however, which 1 had in view in 
writing this communication, is to suggest to the edi¬ 
tors of agricultural journals in New York and Bos¬ 
ton, the propriety of giving the prices of guano of 
the different varieties, either under the head of Prices 
Current, or by advertisement of the importers.(a) 
Farmers would then know at once what they have 
to pay, and whether they could afford it. In Eng¬ 
land, the value of “ Tillages” is regularly quoted ; 
Wm. K. George, of Baltimore, who is the agent for 
the sale of Peruvian guano in the United States, 
makes known his prices specifically, as per quantity, 
and these correspond with the prices in Liverpool. 
This is acting openly and above board. A contrary 
course is calculated to lead to the suspicion that the 
importer has no fixed price, but would be willing to 
receive one price from one purchaser, and another 
from another. The effect is injurious to the interests 
of both importer and consumer. In Baltimore, Rich¬ 
mond, and Petersburg, we get guano at £10 sterling 
per long ton, by the quantity, which is about two 
and one fourth cents a pound. Is the African guano 
(which is understood to be 1 he variety brought into 
New York and Boston) sold at rates corresponding 
to the Liverpool prices for Ichaboe guano ? namely, 
£5 to £5 10.9. per ton.(6) I would like, amongst 
others, to call the attention of the editor of the N. E. 
Farmer to this matter, as he has rendered good ser¬ 
vice in promoting the introduction of guano into this 
country. T. S. Pleasants. 
Petersburgh, Va., Feb. 3, 1845. 
(a) Our correspondent will notice that the prices of 
guano, bones, plaster, salt, and several other fertilizers 
or “ tillages ,” are always to be found in our price cur¬ 
rent; in addition to this they are frequently advertised. 
( b) No; it is not. In our judgment the African 
guano is held tqo high, considering its inferiority to 
the Peruvian. The price of Peruvian is fairly fixed, 
and corresponds with the Baltimore price. See Mr 
Bartlett’s advertisement in this No. of our paper. 
