RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF GUANO, ITS HISTORY AND VALUE. 
77 
Peas, Beans, Turnips, Beets, Carrots, Parsnips, 
and Onions. —If these are sown broad-cast* apply 
the guano in the same way as directed to wheat; 
if in drills, as directed w r ith corn, except it might 
not he best to cover the guano with more than one 
to one-and-a-half inches of soil in the drill, and 
then sow the seed. 
Asparagus and Celery. —It is a good top-dressing 
for these early in the spring. 
Melons, Cucumbers, Squashes, and Pumpkins .— 
Treat to guano the same as corn in the hill, allowing 
an even tablespoonful for each plant to be left to 
run to vine. 
Strawberries, Raspberries, Currants, Grape Vines, 
and indeed all fruits, may have guano dug in about 
the small roots, early in the spring. 
Apple, Pear , Peach, Cherry, Plum, Quince, and 
other Fruit Trees. —Guano not only adds to the' 
size, and fair, plump appearance of all fruits, but is 
said to increase the delicacy of their flavor. It 
should not be applied around the body of the tree 
unless it he a very small one, but to the extreme 
ends of the roots, otherwise it cannot be absorbed, 
and of course will be nearly all lost. Roots of 
trees spread under ground about the same distance 
from the trunk, as the branches do above ground. 
Let the soil be well trenched from one to three feet 
wide, according to the size of the tree, directly 
under the circle formed by the ends of the branches, 
and the guano then be incorporated with the soil, 
within a few inches of the top of the rootlets; it 
will thus find its way to their mouths, and as it de¬ 
composes be taken up in the sap for the benefit of 
the tree and its fruit. If applied later than May or 
June, it will make a large, soft, spongy, growth of 
unripened wood of no value whatever. 
Steeps and Liquid for Watering Plants. —For 
one pound of guano use 5, 10, or even 20 gallons 
of water; or at the same rate for a smaller propor¬ 
tion. Stir it up well and cover over the vessel 
tight, so as to prevent the escape of the ammonia, 
and let it remain from one to three days before 
being used. Now water around (not upon ) the 
plants as occasion may require. If this liquid 
touches the plant, or its leaves, it is apt to burn it. 
Previous to watering, stir the earth well around the 
plant. One pound of guano for 20 gallons of water 
may be thought to make a very weak steep for wa¬ 
tering plants, but such is not the fact; we have 
seen the most surprising results from watering with 
a steep no stronger than this. Some of our friends 
last year steeped their corn and other grain in this 
liquid, from 3 to 24 hours previous to planting. It 
came up unusually quick, and grew very rapidly. 
For steeps we would recommend 10 to 20 gallons 
of water to each pound of guano, using the latter 
quantity for the more delicate seeds. It is so pow¬ 
erful a substance there is great danger of its killing 
the embryo of the seed, if applied in too strong 
doses. The phosphate of lime and magnesia in the 
guano are insoluble in water: the sediment there¬ 
fore is valuable to spread on the land. 
To the Ladies. —Guano is very easily applied by 
you, and in the neatest possible manner, to your 
conservatory and garden plants. Purchase a neat 
keg of it containing about 60 lbs., have a hole bored 
m the head, into;which insert a stopper. Now 
place the keg on its side as if to draw liquor out of 
it Then as often as you wish to use the guano, 
take out the stopper and draw out what is necessary 
from the keg with an iron rod flattened and slightly 
crooked at the end. Now make a liquid of it as 
described above, or with a trowel dig a small quan¬ 
tity of it in the earth, around the plant. This, 
says Mr. Teschemacher, must be done before the 
plants form their full sized flowering buds, other¬ 
wise they will begin to make new shoots, the buds 
will be left behind, and the flowers will open with 
diminished beauty. Be very careful not to let the 
guano touch the stems or leaves of your plants, 
otherwise it will be certain to kill them. 
A boquet of flowers may be preserved a long 
time in water, by adding a very small quantity of 
guano to it as often as renewed. A quarter of an 
ounce to a quart of water would be sufficient. It 
might be well also to add a tablespoonful of pulve¬ 
rized charcoal at the same time. 
Caution in Application. —Be very careful to place 
the guano so that it will not touch the embryo, or 
young roots, or stalks of corn, potatoes, cabbages, 
tobacco, sugar cane, cotton, or any plant that has 
but one stem from its root; for it is of such a burn¬ 
ing nature, that if a portion no larger than a small 
pea comes in contact with the plant, before being 
watered or rained on, or undergoing partial decom¬ 
position, it instantly kills it. W ith grass and small 
grains this caution is not important, as other shoots 
from the roots will immediately supply the place of 
those killed. 
i Destructive to Insects. —That guano is destructive 
to insects may be proved by any one disposed to 
make the experiment. Take insects and put them 
in a saucer or bottle, and sprinkle a little guano on 
them; or mix up a tablespoonful of guano in a gill 
of water, and pour this liquid upon the insects. It 
will be found to kill the smaller ones almost in¬ 
stantaneously, and the larger in one or two hours’ 
time. 
History of Guano. —Guano, or huano, as it is 
called in the Peruvian language, is the dung of sea¬ 
birds which has been accumulating for centuries on 
the headlands and islands of the coast of Peru ; the 
birds resorting to these places to lay, and hatch, and 
rear their young. A good many of the young die 
there, or are killed by being trodden under foot by 
the old birds. More * or less feathers are annually 
shed from the old birds and incorporated with the 
dung, all adding to its value. These birds exist in 
countless numbers, and living almost entirely on 
fish, their manure is of the richest kind produced. 
It never rains on the coast of Peru; the fertilizing 
properties of the dung, therefore, are not subject to 
be washed out; and as very little of the salts can 
be evaporated in a dry atmosphere, it retains nearly 
all its fertilizing properties for ages. This dry cli¬ 
mate is peculiar to the coast of Peru; guano com¬ 
ing from Chili or any other quarter of the globe, 
cannot therefore be so good as the Peruvian, as the 
analyses below fully show. 
Guano has been used by the Peruvians from time 
immemorial, for manuring Indian corn and other 
crops and fruits. After the Spaniards conquered 
Peru, they adopted the use of it in their husbandry, 
and have continued it with the best effects for more 
than three centuries. In the West India Islands it 
has been used with good effect for a long time It 
