A KE VIEW OF T11L MARCH NO. OF THE AGRICULTURIST.-NO. 2 . 
179 
law taxing dogs. There is no greater friend to the 
dog than ourselves, and we are fond of having them 
about us; but then we would take care that they 
did no injury to our neighbors, and we hold that 
every person should be liable for damage commit¬ 
ted by those belonging to them. 
A REVIEW OF THE*MARCH NO. OF THE 
AGRICULTURIST.—No, 2. 
Rules for the Application of Guano. —Permit me 
to offer an amendment. Strike out all after the 
words, “ Before using guano ,” and insert, let the 
cultivators of American soil seriously inquire 
whether there is not a vast amount of native ma¬ 
nures existing in the form of permanent minerals 
or earthy matters, to say nothing of that most valu¬ 
able of all manures, deep plowing and green crops, 
besides the enormous neglect of animal manures 
constantly going to waste, particularly in cities, 
which it would be far more economical to use in¬ 
stead of importing a substitute. Mr. Editor, I can¬ 
not bear the name of “ guano.” It calls up sad 
reflections whenever I see or hear it. Is it possible 
that Young America, the land of fertility, “ the 
garden of the world,” has occasion to import ma¬ 
nure ? Then are we poor, indeed ! as most new 
beginners are. Why, here in this good city of 
New York, there is a shipload of guano as good 
as ever sun shone upon on the islands of Africa or 
Peru, going to waste every day. If we are to im¬ 
port manure or bread stuffs, I am reminded by the 
story of the two brushmakers, that we had better 
“ steal the brushes ready made.” .... There is 
another thing. I lay it down as an axiom to my 
mind, which time will prove to my countrymen, 
that owing to our long dry summers, and want ot‘ 
irrigation, as a general fertilizer, guano will prove 
a decidedly bad speculation. Besides, is it good 
economy for us to import phosphate of lime ? In the 
name of geology, I protest that we have a sufficient 
quantity in our own Country. At all events, 20 
per cent, of sand, clay, organic matter, and water, 
when added to the 26 to 52 per cent, of phosphate 
of lime, is entirely too much of a very common and 
superabundant article, to be so far-fetched and dear 
bought, for the sake of the 4 to 46 per cent, of 
ammoniacal salts, which your table shows the 
guano to contain. Most persons who ever 
read, know that ammonia is a fertilizer ; and as the 
best of guano contains 46 per cent, of it, conse¬ 
quently it is a good manure. But is it any more 
necessary to go to Peru after ammonia than -it is 
after phosphate of lime ? Heavens ! what a hum¬ 
bug ! What is ammonia? Is it something that 
exists only on the sun-burnt “ Islands of Peru, 
where it never rains ?” Really it is a long time 
since we have had a shower of common sense. 
“ The schoolmaster” is undoubtedly “ abroad.” 
What is ammonia? My book (I am “ a book 
farmer”) tells me it is—nitrogen, 82.35, hydro¬ 
gen, 17.65, =100; and it is found in the most 
come-at-able form for the farmer’s use, in urine and 
animal matter; particularly in bones, horns, hoofs, 
&c., that are thrown away to make room for 
“ Guano.” What immense quantities go daily 
down the sewers of New York, in the form of 
human urine alone ! . . . . On account of the 
mere transportation (it is so portable an article), 
guano may be a valuable fertilizer for a conserva¬ 
tory or pocket garden; but my objections are 
against importing the raw material, or inducing far¬ 
mers to look abroad for a supply of that which we 
have in abundance at home. . . . Being a home¬ 
made and a home-trade man, I vote for a tariff of 
public opinion upon the importation of manure, or 
any other of the natural products of the country. 
[For an admirable series of articles on “ Home¬ 
made Guano,” see our last volume, pages 61, 87,. 
and 115.] 
Chittenden Co., Vt., Ag. Society. —All I have to 
say upon this article is, that every other society in 
the United States should “ go and do likewise.” It 
is the best show of common sense that I have ever 
noticed of any Agricultural Society. 
The Eagle Plow. —Rather too much like an ad¬ 
vertisement [you would not think so, my dear 
Reviewer, if you had to answer the hundred and 
one questions per week which we do, regarding 
these plows] to pass current among strangers 
Mr. Editor; but if the said strangers will accept 
my endorsement I will vouch for all you say 
of its good qualities. By the by, I re¬ 
collect' that Solon Robinson has spoken highly of 
the plow, and he is safe authority. Pray, friend 
Solon, does it do well upon your prairie soil, 
where there is so much complaint about the plow 
clogging. . , . Your Prairie Farmer paper brags 
much of steel plows, but a friend of mine who lives 
out there, says they soon wear out. Is that so ? If 
it is, why not harden the steel mould-board ? 
Reduction of the British Tariff. —Yes, and ours 
too, of course. More Guano ! I have just 
seen a letter from some inland, out-of-the-world 
town in Illinois, that says, “ in consequence of the 
prospect of being able soon to send our wheat to 
England free of duty, real estate is looking up.” 
Fudge . 1 But it is no use to say to a man that 
“ looks up” to the British tariff, 75 miles inland 
from Chicago, that the total abolition of the British 
Corn-laws will have a tendency to reduce instead 
of increasing the price of his wheat Time will tell. 
Liebig’s Patent Process of Manufacturing Manure. 
—Patent medicine and patent manure ! Is this an 
improvement on Bommer ? But first, how do you 
pronounce that name ? Is it a “ Lie,” with an affix 
of “ big,” or is it “ Labah ?” [The German pro¬ 
nunciation is Le-big.] Some of his opponents say 
that his writings give the signification of the Eng¬ 
lish sound of his name. I hope not, for thousands 
place great dependence upon them. . . . This may 
be, and undoubtedly is, a very good formula of 
preparing an artificial substitute to restore fertility 
to land; but it never will be extensively used 
while millions of acres of forest and prairie can be 
had after the “ old homestead” is worn out, upon 
which crops can be raised without any manure— 
our country is too large and too rich in soil to 
improve. 
A Southern Barn. —Well, at least here is one 
good feature—there is a manger instead of a rack. 
But, begging your pardon, this is not a barn as 
Noah Webster understood it, but a stable; and so 
it is called where it belongs. The place for fodder, 
i. e. blades of maize, is upon scaffolds over the 
stalls, and the corn is in the crib “over yonder,” 
and the door has to be opened whenever the horse 
