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RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF GUANO, ITS HISTORY AND VALUE. 
.RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF G UANO, 
ITS HISTORY AND VALUE. 
Preparation .—Before using guano, pass it through 
a fine sieve, and all lumps remaining break up, and 
these pass through the sieve. Now take at least 
four times its bulk of sand, or dry sandy, or light 
loamy soil, and pass this through a coarser sieve, if 
you have one, and mix it in layers with the guano. 
Let this compost lie a few days—several weeks 
would be better—then toss it over and beat it up 
well together, and it will be fit for use. Some pre¬ 
fer mixing the guano with ten or twenty times its 
hulk of soil for a compost, and do not take the 
trouble of sifting it, but mix them together in alter¬ 
nate layers as well as it can be done with a shovel. 
Sifting, however, is best, as it is done so much more 
evenly. Sawdust is an excellent material with 
which to mix guano; but powdered charcoal is 
perhaps the best of all, as it fixes the ammonia, 
absorbs its unpleasant smell, and is in itself an ex¬ 
cellent manure. When convenient to be obtained, 
plaster of Paris ought to be used in the compost, at 
the rate of 30 to 50 lbs., for every 100 lbs. of 
guano : it acts in the same way as charcoal. Lime 
and ashes must be avoided in composts, as they 
rapidly expel the ammonia, the most valuable part 
of the guano. Muck, if possible, should not be 
used for the compost, as it is too moist and tena¬ 
cious to form a proper mixture. The same objec¬ 
tion holds good against clay or any tenacious soil. 
Nevertheless, if there be no other soil at hand, 
muck or clay may be thoroughly dried and pulve¬ 
rized, and then used. Guano should not be mixed 
with barn-yard manures, or indeed with any moist 
substance, as these cause it to undergo the very de¬ 
composition requisite to promote vegetation. The 
/compost should be made under coyer, unless the 
weather be dry. Rain would be quite injurious to 
it, in hastening the decomposition of the guano, 
and expelling its ammonia in the atmosphere. 
Value. —Guano is valuable for every kind of soil, 
except that which is already very rich, and to every 
kind of field and garden crop, grass, grain, vege¬ 
tables, fruits, and flowers. The reason it is so ser¬ 
viceable to all, arises from the fact of its containing 
every kind of food necessary for the growth of 
stem, flower, fruit, and seed. The eminent chemist. 
Dr. Jackson, of Massachusetts, says: “It comes 
nearer to a universal compost than any other ex- 
. elemental manure.” 
Guano is particularly valuable for conservatories 
and gardens, inasmuch as it is quickly and easily 
applied; its fertilizing matter is in a very condensed 
form ; and it contains no seeds of weeds to shoot up 
and check the growth of plants desired to be culti¬ 
vated. Its fertilizing properties being in a very con¬ 
densed form, the whole cost of enough for an acre 
and its application, is frequently less than the cost 
of mere transportation of city or barnyard manures 
to the ground where they are to be used. This is 
a very important consideration to the farmer, and 
especially the gardener. 
Quantity Required per Acre. —This depends upon 
the kind of soil and its condition, and the kind of 
crop to he grown. From 250 to 400 lbs. of guano 
per acre is the safest quantity to apply. It acts 
quickest in a light sandy soil or loam, and is ex¬ 
cellent to start crops on cold, moist land. It hastens 
the ripening of crops on all kinds of soil. 
Take Particular Notice. —In speakin e * below 
about applying a tablespoonful, or any criher quan¬ 
tity of guano, we mean that amount, w jthout ad¬ 
mixture ; if mixed with four times its quantity of 
soil, then it would require five tablespoonfuls of 
this compost to be applied to get the single one of 
guano, &c. 
Grass and Grass Lands .—Spread broad-cast, from 
250 to 400 lbs. per acre, mixed in a compost of earth 
of about four to one. As soon as the snow is off 
the ground and the frost begins to come out, is the 
best time to apply it. Another application of from 
150 to 200 lbs. may he given in midsummer, di¬ 
rectly after the first mowing. Care should he 
taken to do this just before a rain. Grass lands 
may be top-dressed in the fall; but in that case, 
much of the guano is likely to be washed off’by the 
heavy rains and lost. W e recommend applying it 
at the rate of 200 to 300 lbs. per acre, on land re¬ 
cently seeded with grass. This should be done just 
previous to harrowing and rolling. 
When sward land is to he plowed for a crop, it 
may be top-dressed with guano previous to plow- 
; mg, and then be turned under the sod. It will warm 
and hasten the decomposition of the soil, and afford 
I food for the crop about the time the grain or fruit is 
filling, and thus add largely to the product 
Wheat, Rye, Barley, Gats, fyc. —On winter wheat 
and rye, spread broad-cast from 209 to 300 lbs. of 
guano, per acre, just before the plant commences 
growing in the spring. If applied in the fall, unless 
on very poor soil, it is apt to give the crop too rank 
a growth before winter sets in. On spring wheat, 
rye, barley, oats, &c., spread the same quantity at 
the time of sowing, and harrow it in with tire seed 
If this he not convenient it may be applied within 
a week or fortnight after the grain appears above 
ground. Caution must be used about applying too 
much on the small grain crops, otherwise it will be 
likely to promote too rank a growth and occasion 
smut. 
Indian Corn. —For this crop guano may be 
spread broad-cast upon the land, the same as ior 
! wheat; but it is better to apply it directly to the 
hill. Hollow out the hill with the hoe, put in 
about a tablespoonful of guano, cover it over one- 
and-a-half to two inches deep with soil, and then 
sow the seed and cover up. If the com be sowed in 
drills, furrow out lightly with a one-horse plow, 
then apply the guano as in hills, and cover it with 
the hoe or other implement. At the first time hoe¬ 
ing, put double the above quantity of guano around 
the hill, and hoe it in, taking particular care that it 
does not touch the stalks, otherwise it will be very 
likely to kill them. If this can he done just before 
a rain, so much the better. Some apply guano again 
just as the com is ready to tassel and fruit, but we 
should hardly think this necessary except in very 
poor soil. If more than the above quantity be ap¬ 
plied to corn, it must be planted extra wide apart, 
otherwise the growth will be so large as to make 
the stalks and leaves intermix and produce smut. 
Potatoes, Tomatoes, Sugar Cane, Tobacco, Cotton , 
Cabbage, Cauliflower, and some other crops, may be 
treated nearly in the same manner as corn. 
