1846. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
cultivate, for if Col. Le Couteur’s statement is to be 
reelied upon, and there is not the remotest cause to 
doubt his veracity, some sorts of wheatwill, simply be¬ 
cause they are naturally more productive, yield such an 
additional amount of produce as will more than re¬ 
munerate the farmer for the labor of cultivation. 
H. R* 
Varick, Seneca county, N. F„, Nov., 1845, 
“LIKE PRODUCES LIKE ” 
The writer has read your article on this subject, and 
so far as it regards plants in a state of nature he has no 
doubt of its correctness. 
The humus produced by the decomposition of the 
trees and leaves of the forest, serves as a manure for the 
production of future forests—or rather as an absorber of 
ammonia for the benefit of future forests; and the de¬ 
composition of grasses, operates in the same way for 
the production of future crops of grass. 
There is no doubt that wheat if sown on a suitable 
soil, and left unmolested, would reproduce itself for 
ages; but my belief is it would degenerate, and thus 
finally, the grain would not be larger or heavier than 
that of chess. 
Wheat is found as a grass in Sicily, growing in the 
highways by the sides of fences; but it is a stunted 
plant, and its seeds are said not to be larger than those 
of timothy. 
Cultivation improves most plants, (the apple, the 
peach, and the plum, for example,) and roots and grain 
among the rest. 
The grains require animal manures to bring them to 
perfection, and they flourish only about the residences 
of men, where they receive the ammonia produced 
by the urine of men and of beasts. Wheat, with no 
other manure than the decomposition of its stem, its 
leaves, and its grain, would flourish, and bring forth 
fruit, probably to the amount of a few bushels to the acre; 
but this would not answer the purposes of the cultiva¬ 
tor. He must have a large crop of fine wheat, contain¬ 
ing a large quantity of gluten. This he cannot obtain 
on the best of soils, without imparting to the plant at 
least double the quantity of manure it would obtain 
from the atmosphere and from the decomposition of 
the plant of the previous year, the fruit of grain except¬ 
ed. What then does he do ? 
By fallowing he destroys all vegetation whatever, 
turns up the soil and exposes it to the atmosphere, 
loosens it and renders it porous, so as to become as it 
were a sponge, to absorb the carbonic acid and ammo¬ 
nia from water and the atmosphere, and in addition to 
this he buries within the soil animal matter which con¬ 
tains ammonia in a fixed state, and which by the ap- : 
plication of water becomes soluble as the plant requires 
it, and he keeps it there by a top dressing of gypsum—and 
which is constantly absorbing more from rain water. 
This is the state of the land when it receives the 
grain. The plant has the benefit of the ammonia be¬ 
fore it puts forth its leaves, and by its roots it derives 
nutriment from the same source until it attains maturi¬ 
ty. By this process the cultivator, instead of obtaining 
a few grains from one, obtains an hundred fold, in qua¬ 
lity equal, and often superior to that sown; and here I 
apprehend is the great benefit derived from cultivation, 
and the application of animal and other manures. The 
cultivator carries off the grain, and so far robs the soil, 
and even if he should restore all the rest of the plant, he 
must make up the deficiency by other manures. 
Still it is not to be denied, that the straw of wheat, if 
applied lightly as a top dressing, would prove a valua¬ 
ble manure for wheat. That straw contains potash, 
soda, lime, magnesia, alumina, silica, sulphuric acid, 
phosphoric acid, and chlorine, all of which are neces¬ 
sary for the production of the new plant, and it would 
be absurd to contend that it would not be benefited by j 
its application. 
So far from doing this, the writer knows it would prove | 
a valuable auxiliary—and with the aid of a barrel of i 
45 
manure he is now preparing, which will cost not to 
exceed $2, he confidently believes he can manure an 
acre of wheat land sufficiently to produce a full crop of 
first rate wheat, and he will not say that by the same 
manure, he cannot at all times, and every year, produce 
good crops of wheat on the same land. If so, the dis¬ 
covery may produce a new era in the agriculture of the 
United States. The experiments of the next season 
will test the correctness of his theory. 
A Farmer of Tompkiws •ouN'ttY. 
P. S. His new manure will prove equally valuable 
for other grain crops, grass, and roots, and he believes 
also for cane, cotton, and tobacco. 
EXPERIMENT WITH GUANO. 
Mr. Editor —Let me occupy a small space in your 
paper to clear up the difficulties in which my article 
upon the effect of guano, in your November number, 
seems to be involved. Your correspondent, J. B. C., 
says that it is not sufficiently definite, and he requests 
the modus operandi of my experiments. I must con¬ 
fess to the truth of some of his remarks, though I will 
not allow that my case, and that of the old lady giving 
a guide to good indigo, are altogether alike, for he ad¬ 
mits that my communication furnished him a hint, 
when surely, the old lady’s recipe contained not even 
that. 
I did not keep memorandums of the cases, as I had 
no intention of communicating them for publication, 
and certainly should not have felt authorized in doing 
it, had not the effect been so astonishing. Upon one 
experiment I should hardly think of basing an opinion, 
and neither upon two ought much reliance to be placed. 
A variety of experiments, under different circumstan¬ 
ces, can only give a sure test of our applications; still I 
think my experiments are entitled to some considera¬ 
tion, taking the fact into account that other vines and 
rose bushes situated exactly similar, presented so striking 
a contrast. 
Of guano, I took five pounds, which was mixed with 
four parts earth, making, say twenty-five pounds. In 
this state it remained one day, or twenty-four hours, 
when I dug in about the rose, which is in a half gallon 
pot, perhaps four or five table spoonsful. I afterwards, 
in three or four weeks, applied a tea spoonful or so of 
pure guano, being careful that it did not come in con¬ 
tact with the plant, which has a stem half an inch 
through, and is two feet high. 
In the case of the vine, I dug about the roots to the 
depth of a foot, into which I scattered the mixture, 
covering up with ordinary earth. The main stem of this 
vine, is two inches and a half through, and spreads its 
branches each way fifteen or twenty feet. 
These applications were made the latter part of 
April or fore part of May. I might add that during the 
warm, dry weather in summer, I threw about this vine 
a good many pails of^water, (I would like to say how 
many, but unfortunately can’t.) This was done more 
for the purpose of distributing the guano than with any 
other object, though I am under the impression that 
such waterings are very good at any time, but more es¬ 
pecially if there has been a lack of rain, and I wanted 
to see what effect these means together would have. 
How far each contributed to produce the result men¬ 
tioned, I leave to J. B. C., and others interested, to de¬ 
termine. I shall, however, follow up my experiments 
another year, being quite convinced that guano is a 
most capital fertilizer, and well adapted to the uses of 
a garden or green-house. 
I hope the above explanation will satisfy your “ defi¬ 
nite ” loving correspondent, and enable him to get at 
the substance of the “ hint.” A. T. 
Brooklyn , Dec. 25, 1845. 
Importation of Stock. —The ship Independence 
lately arrived at Boston, brought four cows and seven 
sheep consigned to ITon. Daniel Webster, and these 
have been sent to Marshfield. 
