THE FIVE FIELD SYSTEM AND GUANO.

We look upon this as the most preferable of all other systems of farming ever adopted in the South—it is the system of Edmund Ruffin, to whom Virginia owes a debt of gratitude beyond her power to pay. It will be seen from the following extract from a letter of Mr. Newton that that eminent agriculturist is of opinion that improvement of poor land is unlimited, if guano in connection with this system is perseveringly applied. He says—"The "five field System," which is now rapidly extending over all the poor and worn lands that are now under improvement by marl, lime, or guano, originated, or at least was first extensively introduced in lower Virginia, on the Pamunkey, and has there wrought wonders, aided by marl and judicious farming. The rotation is corn,—wheat,—clover—wheat, or clover fallow,—and pasture, and after pasture one year, commencing the round again with corn. This system, if guano be applied to both crops of wheat, on corn land and fallow, or alternately with lime or marl, when calcareous manures are required, will readily increase the crops and permanent improvement of the land. In the commencement of the rotation, lime had better be applied with the putrescent manures to the corn crop, to be followed by guano on wheat. If this system be perseveringly, pursued, I can scarcely see any reasonable limits to the improvement of poor lands and the increase of the profits of agriculture."

Disappointment will result from the application of lime, marl, salt potash, guano, or any special and highly concentrated substance as a fertilizer, to the neglect of organic manures. We lay down this fact as incontrovertible, that no soil, however fertile it may be made for the time being by any of these special manures, can remain permanently so, unless care is used to maintain a healthful supply of organic matter,—rich mould—good soil upon the land cultivated. If this is done, we never shall hear of guano failing to bring increased crops or of the "land running out," where it has been applied. Special manures of any kind may fail to produce crops, where this essential requisite to good farming is neglected. Guano, in our opinion, should always be followed by crops of clover, grass, peas, or some crop that will shade the earth, and can be turned under with the plow, to keep up the necessary supply of nitrogenous food for cereal crops.

The effect of Lime and Salt upon land is to dissolve the inert portions of organic matters in the soil, so that plants can suck up their substance into their own composition. Both are highly beneficial, but insufficient to add permanent fertility.

The effect of guano, is greater than any other highly concentrated manure ever discovered and applied to any soil. Its benefits are immediate continuous, and unlike lime, without exhausting the soil of its organic matter. Yet its benefits will be increased by the addition of organic manures derived from green crops, straw, or the stable, and the value of these will be greatly increased by the addition of lime, salt and plaster, while any deficiency of phosphates must be supplied by powdered bones or another application of guano.

The effect of plaster with guano is to arrest the excursive disposition of the volatile parts of the guano, and imprison them in the earth until called forth by the growing plants to do the State some service. The following question to the Editor of the American Farmer, and his reply, are to the point in this matter:—

A correspondent says—"As to the question of mixing plaster with guano, there is one question I should like to propose to the editor, viz.—'what will be the effect of sowing guano upon land by itself, and then, the seed being in the ground, giving it a heavy top-dressing of plaster, so as to arrest the 'excursion,' of which so much is said?"

Reply by the editor.—"The effect of such application of guano and plaster would be, to prevent the waste of the ammonia of the former, as every rain would decompose more or less of the plaster, separate the sulphuric acid from the lime, and the sulphuric acid when liberated, would unite with the ammonia, form a sulphate of ammonia, and hold the latter in reserve to be taken up by the roots of the plants. The presence of plaster with all organic manures, either directly mixed with them, or broadcasted after they may be applied, tends to prevent the escape of their volatile parts. We prefer them together for two reasons,—first, because, by bringing the two into immediate contact, the action of the plaster is more direct; and secondly, because the time and expense of one sowing is thereby saved. We go for saving every way, as time and labor costs money, and we look upon economy as a virtue, which should be practised by all, and especially by husbandmen."

If the plaster and guano is mixed together, 25 lbs. of the former to 100 lbs. of the latter, will be found a proper proportion, and sufficient to prevent the ammonia from making an "excursion." Unless the soil be very poor, 200 lbs. of good Peruvian guano is as much as we should recommend for wheat. In this we have the concurrence of the editor of the Farmer, and perhaps a hundred gentlemen whom we have conversed with upon this subject. All agree in the opinion, whether mixed with plaster or not, that a judicious application of guano will more certainly restore productiveness to worn out land, or add fertility to that already productive, than any other substance ever applied.

Want of Faith in the efficacy of guano.—Whatever doubts may have existed in the minds of careful men, there is no room for doubts now, that Peruvian guano possesses regenerating properties beyond belief, without evidence, and capacity to increase the productiveness of lands in sound condition, in such an eminent degree, that any farmer who has the power to obtain it, evinces great folly and perverse obstinacy, if he continue to cultivate his land without applying it; either for want of faith, or pretended disbelief in its efficacy; or because he thinks the price fixed upon it by the Peruvian Government, "unjustifiably high;" or because although he has no doubt it will answer in the moist climate of England, is sure it will never answer in this dry climate; or because he is afraid the luxuriant crops produced by the application of guano will exhaust his land; or because his neighbor Jones killed all his seed corn by putting only a handful in the hill; while Mrs. Jones killed all her flowers and fifty kinds of roses with the "pisen stuff;" and therefore he don't want any more to do with it; or because it has failed to give remuneration under the most injudicious application, made contrary to all instructions or experience of those who have used it; or for any and all the other thousand and one objections raised by those who have never used it, and seem determined they never will; probably because when the almost miraculous accounts of its operations were first published, they had cried out "humbug" so loudly they are determined no after evidence shall convince them the only humbug in the case was in their own disbelief. It is for the benefit of these unbelievers we are now writing. Our object is to present such an array of facts guaranteed by such respectable names, they shall have no hook to hang a doubt upon—no reason—no justifiable excuse for any sane man longer to neglect to apply an article of such positive, certain benefit to his hungry soil.

ED. REYNOLDS ESQ., OF BALTIMORE, ON THE VALUE OF GUANO.

Writing on the subject of "bought manures," as everything is termed not produced upon the farm, and how dubiously they are looked upon by some persons calling themselves good farmers, for fear of being humbugged, Mr. Reynolds says, in a letter dated July, 1850, "Since 1843, I have been trying to find out which is the best of all these 'new things,' and have now, after having been very considerably humbugged, settled down upon bones and guano—although, even the last named in a very dry year, has also 'cheated me'; but this is by no means its character, as I am constrained to admit, that after having tried it on all sorts of soil, and perhaps as long if not longer than any other person in the State, it is my opinion that when properly applied, with an average fair season, it is a very powerful fertilizer. My mode of using it is, when applied to tobacco, to mix one and a half bushels of the Peruvian, (which is ordinarily 100 lbs.) with one bushel rich earth, and one bushel of plaster, which admits about the fifth part of a gill of the mixture to each hill for every 5,000 hills—and putting it in the center of the check before being scraped—so that when the hill is made, it lies beneath the plant. On wheat, I apply three bushels of Peruvian guano equal to 200 lbs. mixed with one bushel of plaster, one bushel rich earth to the acre, sowing on the surface and plowing it in as soon and as deep as possible, after it is sowed. The past spring I have put 300 lbs. to the acre, on 30 acres of corn, being half of a field, on a farm in Calvert, mixing with it the same quantity of rich earth and plaster, and sowing on the surface, plowing in at once very deep, using the cultivator only in working it afterwards. I do not intend to use it at all with corn, hereafter, but not because I do not think it also a good fertilizer with this crop, (as my corn on my Calvert farm, upon which it has been used, now shows very fair,) but only because it has never failed to pay me three fold better on wheat, than on anything else. In order to test its virtue, it is essentially necessary to plow it in deeply, and stir it as little as possible afterwards."

Bones.—Of these I have used both ground and crushed, and always to advantage at ten to twelve bushels per acre; bought from manufacturers here, and agents of houses in New York; but I am using the crushed dissolved by oil of vitriol, as prepared by myself on my farm in Calvert in the following way: The bones, (which we buy in the neighborhood at 50 cents per 112 lbs.) after breaking them with a small sledge hammer on an old anvil, we put at the rate of three bushels in half a hogshead, and apply to that quantity 75 lbs. oil of vitriol, filling up the half hogshead to within eight inches of the top with water, letting them remain, (but stir the contents occasionally with a stick,) say two to five weeks, according to the quality and strength of the vitriol; then start the contents of the half hogshead into a large iron kettle, apply a slight fire and the whole contents will in less than an hour be reduced to a perfect jelly. We use two half hogsheads at once, to prepare it expeditiously. We then mix the contents of each kettle, with a horse cart load of rich earth, or ashes, throwing in a half barrel of plaster, mix or compost it handsomely, and use at pleasure, on an acre of land with any crop you choose, and you will have permanently improved two acres at the following cost, viz: Bones, $1.50, vitriol, $3.75, plaster, $1.12, making $6.37, or $3.18 per acre, and this may be repeated so as with proper attention, as much lasting improvement may be made each year as many farmers derive from their barn yards. Bones in any form never fails to show their striking effects on clover and other grasses—but either bones or guano will scarcely ever fail to produce a better crop of clover, which, with the increased quantity of straw, (particularly when guano is used,) will enable and encourage the saving of larger quantities of barn yard manure, and which must inevitably cause a lasting improvement.

This coincides with our views exactly, as we have in all these pages endeavored to impress upon our readers, that the increased growth of straw from the use of guano, will increase the manure pile, and "inevitably cause a lasting improvement."

Poudrette.—"I have used also, to good advantage, particularly on clayey lands, at the rate of six to eight barrels per acre. It is a first rate top dressing on young clover in spring, at two to three barrels per acre; this article has been prepared so badly heretofore, that a great quantity of it was really worthless."

We also concede to poudrette as much credit as Mr. Reynolds but as will be seen, it will cost more to improve land with it than with guano.

Prepared Guano—Agricultural Salts—Generators and Regenerators.—Of these, the testimony of Mr. Reynolds is exactly to the point, concise and strong, and exactly in accordance with all the facts we have been able to collect upon the same subject. He says, "I have tried them on corn, wheat, oats, clover and tobacco; but have yet to discover that they ever generated anything for me, though I have heard them sometimes well spoken of."

Want of room in this pamphlet alone prevents us from inserting the names and operations of many other gentlemen in this rapidly improving State—a State now undergoing the process of renovation by the use of guano, to a greater extent, perhaps, than any other in the Union.

GUANO IN DELAWARE.

No greater blessing, said an intelligent gentleman to me, ever was bestowed upon the people of Delaware.

Extensive use of Guano by a Delaware farmer. Maj. Jones, whose name is extensively known as a very enterprising farmer, purchased in the summer of 1851, of Messrs. A.B. Allen & Co. New York, sixty tons of Peruvian guano, for his own use. With this he dressed 300 acres of wheat, upon the farm at his residence on the Bohemia manor; plowing in part of it and putting in part of it by a drilling machine at the rate of 200 lbs. to the acre, sowing the wheat all in drills. Part of the ground was clover, part corn, and perhaps one half wheat and oat stubble. The earth at the time of sowing was so dry, doubts were entertained whether it would ever vegetate; and that and other causes extended the work so late, upon a portion of the ground, there was scarcely any appearance of greenness when it froze up. With all these disadvantages, the crop was estimated at harvest at twenty bushels to the acre. Without guano no one acquainted with the farm would have estimated the crop at an average of ten bushels. This gives an undoubted increase of five bushels for each hundred weight of guano; and as the soil contains a good deal of clay with which the guano was well mixed, it will retain much of the value of the application, for the next crop. Maj. Jones has heretofore derived very great benefits from the use of guano, as might safely be adjudged from the fact of his risking $3,000 in one purchase of the same article.

Lasting effects of Guano.—Maj. Jones is well satisfied upon this point. In 1847, he used 16 tons, half Peruvian and half Patagonian, sowed with a lime-spreading machine and plowed in deep, say eight inches on clayey loam—planted corn and made 60 bushels per acre on 100 acres; which was an increase of 12 bushels per acre over any former year. Next spring the weeds grew as high as his head on horseback. Rolled them down and plowed under and sowed wheat, five pecks to the acre, and made a heavier crop than ever before made on same land, which he attributes entirely to the guano. Thinks the third crop of wheat is benefitted from guano plowed in three years previous.

The extent to which guano is used in the State of Delaware may be inferred from the fact that it is not at all unusual for merchants in small country villages to purchase from 50 to 200 tons at a time for their retail trade.

Among other successful users of guano in that State, we may mention Governor Ross, who, if as good a ruler as he is farmer, ought to be continued in office to the end of life.

The soil to which guano has been mostly applied in this State is a sandy loam, and the process of applying it, by sowing broadcast from 200 to 350 lbs. per acre, and plowing in from four to six inches deep, previous to sowing wheat, which is always followed by clover, by every one who understands his own true interest; for wherever that course has been pursued, there has been a certain profit derived from the application, even when the wheat has failed.

The improvements in farming in Delaware within the last ten years, will probably exceed in proportion to acres and people, any other State in the Union. Nearly all the northern part of the State has been whitened with lime, and the southern part is rapidly following the same path; while the sale of guano in all parts will exceed any other section of the country, if not in quantity, certainly in numbers of persons making use of this sure means of restoring the lands of an almost ruined State, to their pristine fertility.

GUANO IN PENSYLVANIA.

Mr. Landreth, the celebrated seedsman of Philadelphia, applied $500 worth of Peruvian guano last spring, principally on the bean crop—he thinks guano admirably adapted to all the Brassica tribe, including turnips, cabbages, rutubaga, radishes and all cruciform plants. Upon a lawn which appeared to be running out, he applied guano, and the grass is now green and vigorous. The character of his soil may be judged from its location; it is on the Delaware river above Bristol, and had been awfully skinned before he came in possession. Now, with a liberal expenditure for manures, he gets two crops a year.

Guano for grass lands.—The Germantown Telegraph says: "The application of guano broadcast to grass lands has been found to produce a decided difference in the crop. In several instances this season, where Peruvian guano has been applied at the rate of 200 lbs. per acre, about the middle of April, the yield of hay has been double in quantity, over the intermediate lands not so treated; and in every instance noticed, it is believed that the difference in quantity produced will amply repay the cost of the guano."

GUANO IN NEW JERSEY.

The name of James Buckalew is known, perhaps, more extensively than any other in New Jersey, as one of her most enterprising, rapidly improving, money making farmers, whose testimony in favor of guano may be easily obtained by any one who will take the trouble to go and see what beautiful farms he has made out of the barren sands near the Jamestown station, on the Camden & Amboy railroad, by the use of lime, plaster, marl, manure and guano. It is a pity that every one who doubts the feasibility of profitably improving the worst land in that State, by the power of such an agent as Peruvian guano, could not see what has been done by Mr. Buckalew. Let them also look at what were once bare sand hills around the residence of Commodore Stevens, at South Amboy, a gentleman who ought to be more renowned for his improvements on land than water, notwithstanding his world wide reputation, in connection with the yacht America. Go ask how it is that these drifted sand hills have been covered with rank grass, clover, corn, turnips and other luxuriant crops; the very echo of the question will be, guano.

Look at the astonishing crops of Professor Mapes, at Newark. Peruvian guano, in combination with his improved superphosphate of lime, hath wrought the miracle, aided as it has been, by the deepest plowing ever done in that State.

Mr. Samuel Allen, at Morristown, has now growing upon a poor barren, gravelly knoll, a crop of corn which might put to blush the owner of a rich and well manured field, and which ought to put to blush some of the unbelievers in the power of guano to produce such a growth upon such a soil; rather where there was no soil, hardly enough to grow a respectable crop of mullen stalks. Mr. Allen has tried guano for several years upon every kind of garden vegetable, with the most wonderful success. A crop of Lima beans now growing exhibit its wonderful power in the strongest manner. The application has been made by a small dose at planting and two sprinklings hoed in during their growth.

A great many other persons in this State have produced most wonderful effects upon land almost utterly worthless, while in the immediate benefits, those who have applied it to lands in good condition, have profited more than with double the cost of manure.

Guano for Peach Trees.—A New Jersey nurseryman assured us of his firm conviction in the power of guano to cure the yellows in peach trees—that no grub or worm can be found alive in the roots of a tree where guano is applied—that young trees can be brought into bearing by the use of guano, a year earlier than by any other forcing process with which he is acquainted.

GUANO ON LONG ISLAND.[1]

One gentleman assures us he tried an experiment very carefully, and found an application of guano at two and a half cents a pound, 300 lbs. to the acre, more economical than hauling his own manure one mile. The fair value of team work and cost of labor hired, was more to the acre than the guano, and the first crop quite inferior, the second no difference, and the third slightly in favor of the manure. He thinks buying city manure, particularly street sweepings, about the poorest use to which he could put his money, as he certainly could make 50 per ct. more upon the same amount expended in Peruvian guano. Professor Mapes entertains the same opinion, about hauling manure, where guano, or rather with him, guano improved by the addition of his "improved superphosphate of lime," can be procured.

Dr. Peck, a gentleman well known for his philanthropic motives in settling and improving the "Long Island barrens," has proved that every acre of that long neglected, and until quite recently considered worthless portion of the Island, can be rendered fertile, so as to be cultivated with great profit, either in farms or market gardens, by the aid of this greatest blessing ever bestowed by Providence upon an unfertile land.

Several of the Messrs. Smith, of Smithtown, could show any Long Island farmer who still has doubts upon the subject, that guano is the greatest worker of miracles in this age—that it is just as capable of producing great crops on the barren sands of the Island, as it is on the tide water shores of Virginia, upon soil of the same character.

A great deal has been said in deprecation of the waste of fertilizing matters in the city of New York, in which the writer of this pamphlet has conscientiously joined; because, he thought it wicked to commit such waste, while we were surrounded by lands lying idle, for the want of these very substances. Precious, however, as they would be to the farmer, he cannot afford to use them. That is, it would be poor economy for a Long Island farmer, no matter how near the city, to expend money in the hire of men, vessels and teams, to save, carry, haul and apply to his farm, the immense amount of fertilizing substances now wasted; because the same capital expended in purchasing and applying guano, will produce a much greater profit. The difference in cartage is enough to astonish one who has never thought upon the subject. One man with a pair of horses can easily carry guano enough in one day, thirty miles into the country, to manure ten acres of ground. To carry an equivalent of city manure, in the same time, would require 300 pair of horses and 350 men. Who can wonder that barren lands have remained barren? Who will not wonder if they still continue so, with such fertilizers as their owners might possess to render them otherwise? But few of the residents in the interior of Long Island, if the manure was given to them, can afford the time and team work to haul 300 loads for ten acres, while all can afford the time for one load; and they may be morally certain the capital invested in that load will be returned in the first crop. The great advantage of guano over all other manures is, the concentration of immense fertilizing power in such small bulk.

Guano in New York and Connecticut, generally, has been less used than any sound reason will justify. A comparatively small portion of the market gardeners—a few gentlemen in the improvement of rural homes, and here and there a nurseryman, have derived immense benefits; but the bulk of the farmers are still either faithless, or ignorant; in most cases the latter, of the benefits they might derive from a liberal expenditure in the means, and the only means within their reach, of rendering their lands productive.

Effect of Guano on Garden Seeds.—From the society of Shakers, at Lebanon, so justly celebrated for growing garden seeds, we receive the most positive assurance that no manure ever applied by them, has had such an effect as guano. The production of seeds of all descriptions, is not only increased, but the quality is improved to an astonishing degree. The same effect has been noted upon wheat, particularly in our account of Mr. Newton's operations. So also has it in England. This view of the case should give an additional value to guano to the farmer, as not only an improver of the quantity of his products, but by the gradual improvement in the quality of the seed, calculated to be of vast benefit to him in that respect. Garden seeds raised by guano, as soon as their superiority becomes known, will be in such demand that no other can be sold. Another advantage will arise from the fact that such seeds will be found entirely free from weeds, as none grow after a few years upon land manured only with guano.

The beautiful residence of Mr. Edwin Bartlett, near Tarrytown, exhibits strong evidence of the fertilizing power of guano upon the poor, unproductive hill sides of Westchester Co. That place, now so luxuriant, was noted a few years ago, as too poor to support grasshoppers. It was the poverty stricken joke of the neighborhood.

GUANO IN MASSACHUSETTS.

We have heard a good many assertions that guano, however valuable it might be upon the warm sandy soils of the south, would not answer in the cold land and climate of the New England States. To refute this fallacy, we have some strong testimony. Seven years ago, while the very name of guano, and much more its virtues were unknown to half the farmers of America, Mr. S. S. Teschemacher, of Boston, a gentleman of science and practical skill in gardening, became so fully convinced of its value to the cultivators of American soil, he published a pamphlet for the purpose of inducing others to profit by its use. From that pamphlet we make a few extracts. He says—"One of the numerous objections to this manure is, that, although it may answer well in the humid atmosphere of England, it cannot produce equal benefit in the hot, sandy soils of this country. In reply to this, it may be observed, that the sandy soils of South America are more hot than they are here; and, on the coast of Peru, where it is most used, it scarcely ever rains at all. The truth is, that it certainly requires moisture to decompose it, and enable it to enter into the juices of the plant; by no means, however, so much as is usually supposed; but, once absorbed by the roots and plants, it imparts that strength and solidity which enable them to resist both drought and cold.

"It is beyond dispute that guano contains the chief ingredients required for the growth of plants. The instances hereafter adduced will show that the combination and form of these ingredients are such as to promote not only its immediate action, but clearly to accelerate considerably the progress of vegetation."

The chief ingredients, then, of guano, are,

Ammonia, in various forms and combinations;
Phosphate and oxalate of lime and magnesia;
Salts of potash and soda;
Animal organic matter;
Sand and moisture.

Besides the evidence we have given of the value of an application of such a compound, it contains evidence within itself to every mind embued with any knowledge of agricultural chemistry, that it will not only promote immediate growth of vegetation, but produce a lasting benefit to the soil. It contains all the materials necessary for the growth of cereal or esculent vegetation in the exact form required—that is an impalpable powder—to promote rapid, certain, large growth, and abundant fruitfulness, and consequent profit.

EXPERIMENTS BY MR. TESCHEMACHER.

Four or five teaspoonfuls of dry powder producing such an effect, is what staggers the belief of those who see with their own eyes.

So great is the luxuriance of growth from such an insignificant application, it is necessary to increase the space nearly double between the hills. In a country where fodder is so valuable as it is in Massachusetts, the great increase of stalks is of equal importance with the increase of grain. Indian corn requires both phosphate of lime and magnesia which it finds in guano, in combination with ammonia, in a state just ready to be absorbed by the growing plant, wherever brought in contact, with its roots.

Mr. T. found the guanoed corn planted May 22d, ripened sooner than that planted May 1st. with manure. This alone on account of the difficulty from frost, is sufficient to give it great claim upon northern farmers.

Effect on Grass.—"The application of this manure to grass land already laid down is for many reasons often attended with uncertain results. The best mode is, to spread broadcast about 250 lbs. per acre of the Peruvian guano as soon as the snow is off the ground. It would be very advantageous if, after it was spread on, some light loam could be put over it, in the manner of a top dressing. I state the Peruvian guano is the best for this operation, as it contains what Dr. Ure calls potential ammonia, or ammonia in a more permanent form; whereas the ammonia from the Ichaboe guano evaporates more easily, and this valuable ingredient is therefore lost in the atmosphere when it is spread on the surface.

"Most excellent crops have been obtained, where the grass is sown and laid down in the autumn, on light, sandy soils, by sowing the guano evenly broadcast, then harrowing twice, sowing the grass seed, and rolling."

The best mode of applying it, however, is to sow broadcast and plow it in—at the south, on sandy soils, no matter how deep—at the north on soils more clayey, plow it in about four inches deep—the real object being to so mix it with the soil as to prevent the escape of ammonia, which is exceedingly volatile. Remember, Guano should never be used as a top dressing, except in combination with plaster, or some other substance which will prevent the escape of the most valuable portion of its composition.

In several case, where sods have been laid down for lawns or embankments round houses, the most surprising growth has been obtained by strewing the surface with guano previous to laying on the sod.

E. Baylies, of Taunton, sowed 460 lbs. African guano per acre, with grass seed, which yielded, this year, one ton per acre more than that without; and the appearance of the guanoed grass is now much more thick, luxuriant, and promising, for next year than the other.

"Another friend of mine sowed grass in sandy soil with a full quantity of manure, and an adjoining acre, with 400 lbs. Ichaboe guano. The guanoed acre grew stronger, and retained its full verdure the whole winter; the manured piece, on the contrary, became, as usual, brown by the action of the frost."

Mr. T. as well as nearly all the English writers upon the subject, has noticed the improvement in quality as well as quantity of grain and garden vegetables. It is a well authenticated fact, that birds wont touch the manured wheat, while they can obtain that which is much more plump and rich where guano has been applied.

Effects on Trees and Grape Vines.—"The experiments with guano on trees which have come under my observation, including exotics number about one hundred and fifty. The action has invariably been to produce large foliage, of a deep healthy green."

The best mode of applying guano to fruit-trees, or flowering shrubs, is to dig it into the earth at such distance from the trunk as will be likely to meet the largest number of fibrous roots.

"For instance, round an apple-tree of ten years' standing, dig a trench one or one and a half foot deep, at about the same distance from the stem that the branches extend; let this trench be about one foot wide; then put at the bottom one and a half inch depth of guano, dig it well in, and incorporate it with the soil; then cover up carefully and press the earth down. The effect of this application will unquestionably be felt for several years."

On grape vines, the action of guano has been proved exceedingly beneficial; increasing the growth of vines and fruit, improving the flavor and hastening the ripening, so as to escape early frosts.

In planting young trees, put about a pint in the bottom of the hole covering with soil so the roots will not touch it. No insects or grubs will disturb the roots of such a tree.

"Several friends, who have tried guano this year on their pear-trees, have reported to me the result to be greater crops, and of a much larger size, than they ever had previously."

Guano on Peas—Method of Applying.—The kinds on which I experimented were Prince Albert, Shilling's early grotto, (a dwarf pea,) blue imperial, and marrowfat. Draw a deep trench with a hoe, strew guano in the trench, mix it up with the soil, over this put about one inch and a half of earth, then sow the seed, and cover up. The quantity used should about equal the quantity of seed. The produce of the three first kinds of peas, was five full pecks to the quart of seed, besides a full quart of seed gathered for next year. From the marrowfats I obtained only four pecks and a half, and no seed. The growth of all was extremely luxuriant. The marrowfats were six and a half feet high, the stems from one to one and a quarter inch in circumference. Guano should be placed at such a depth that the natural moisture of the earth will decompose it and render it fit for the plant. In the lightest soils—plow and bury guano a little deeper than in others more heavy; the guano itself retains moisture, and absorbs it naturally.

Guano on Beans, doubled the yield of a paralel row, while the improved flavor was perceptible to those who had no idea of the cause which produced it. In drouth, the power given plants by guano, to resist the scorching rays of the sun, is remarkable.

On Melons, the effect was equally favorable, giving a large increase of highly flavored fruit.

On Potatoes.—We give out of many equally favorable, only one experiment, just to show the ability of farmers to grow this crop in the most unsuitable soil, by a small expenditure for guano, twenty per cent. better than with manure. Here it is. "Soil, very sandy and light; quantity, 800 lbs. African (per ship Samos) to the acre; cost, $20. Same soil, with twenty-two loads fine compost manure, cost $22. Yield, as eleven to nine, or twenty-two per cent. in favor of guano, the potatoes with which were larger than the others."

On Turnips, no manure is equal to guano. The crop has been doubled in numerous instances. Mr. T. says of one experiment he made, "The plants on this portion are now twice as large as those which have not had any. It is perfectly beautiful to see the luxuriance of all these guanoed vegetables compared with the others."

On Strawberries, nothing has ever been applied equal to guano, provided the plants are plentifully watered. The best mode of application is in solution. One pound is enough for ten gallons of water.

On Cauliflowers.—Two experiments, one with guano, the other with a solution. The first are fine strong plants, particularly one to which I gave a larger share than the other; it is heading finely. But those with the solution are much larger and finer. I have been accustomed to observe the cultivation of this vegetable, and never saw such a luxuriant growth. They are now, (Sept. 15th) beginning to show flower; and, if the season is favorable, I expect the heads will be very fine. The plants are at least four times larger than those on the same piece without guano, or any manure at all, planted on the same day, from the same seed bed.

On Rhubarb or Pie Plant, guano has the most decided beneficial effect, increasing the size, flavor and tenderness of the stalk; besides the very great advantage of bringing it forward some two or three weeks earlier in the spring. Fork it in all over the bed, just as early as the frost will permit, at the rate of 600 lbs. to the acre.

On Asparagus, the same treatment will more than double the quantity of this excellent, healthy vegetable. In the fall, give a dressing of salt equal to 15 or 20 bushels to the acre. With the guano, nothing else need be applied, if it is thoroughly mixed with the soil.

For Vegetables, Plants, Trees, and Shrubbery generally, where fruit is an object, apply the guano as above, in powder. Where flowers of rare size and beauty are desired, apply it in solution, or by frequently stirring in small dressings just before a shower. Another important observation on this subject is, that guano, or its solution, should never be applied except at that period of the season when the growth of wood is proper and natural.

In forcing houses, nothing can be equal to guano. One thing, it produces no weeds, or insects; this is enough to insure its favor wherever it may be tried.

On roses, the beneficial effect is already well known. If tea roses are cut down when the bloom is over, repotted in fresh earth, and well watered twice or thrice a week, with guano water, they will immediately throw out luxuriant shoots, and be covered with their fragrant blossoms. The cactus tribe will bear a larger quantity and stronger solution of guano, without injury, than most other plants.

"During the progress of my experiments," says Mr. T., "I have been delighted with the unfailing and extraordinary luxuriance of growth and produce on a miserable spot of land, induced by the use of this manure, and struck with the numerous instances which have come to my knowledge of erroneous applications of it. On a stiff clay, guano would be of little value, except on the surface, or an inch or two deep, unless it were considerably lightened by the addition of sand, or well broken up by exposure, in ridges, to frost, as every clay soil should be. A light, porous, sandy soil would require 300 lbs. Peruvian, or 400 lbs. best Ichaboe; and for this soil I think the Peruvian best adapted, as it retains the ammonia longer, and, being less soluble in water than the Ichaboe, its qualities are not so soon washed out."

In a soil already much enriched with manure, and at the same time abounding in phosphate of lime, I have found the guano to produce less visible effects than on a poor, sandy soil.

Most excellent effects have been produced by steeping seeds in guano water of moderate strength for eight to twelve hours, dependent on the kind of seeds, and then planting with one to three inches soil between the seed and the guano. The steep encourages the growth of the young plant, whose roots, in a more advanced stage, find the guano, which continues the stimulus.

Quantity for a Steep.—Put one, one and a half, or two teaspoonfuls of guano, according to quality, in a quart bottle, shake up, and when settled, use; then refill and use two or three times, previous to putting in fresh guano. Or, in the large way, from fifteen to twenty gallons of water to one pound; mix in a barrel, stir up and leave it to settle, taking care, however, to put a cover on, to prevent the escape of ammonia.

DIRECTIONS AS TO QUANTITY AND MANNER OF APPLYING GUANO TO VARIOUS CROPS AND SOILS.

Preparation of guano for use.—Until some ingenious Yankee invents a cheap mill by which he will make a fortune and the lumps be easily ground, the following method may be pursued. Take the bags on the barn floor or in some close room with tight floor and sift the guano over a box, through a 3/8 mesh sieve, putting the fine back in the bags and lumps on the floor. These may be mashed with a stout hoe or shovel, or with a block like a pavier's rammer. Sift and break again until all is fine. Lay the dust with a very slight sprinkle from the nose of a watering pot; of a solution of copperas, at the rate of 10 lbs. to the cwt. of guano, or with plaster or loamy earth—woods mould or dry fine clay. Many persons prefer to mix plaster with the guano in the first instance at the rate of a peck of plaster to a bushel of guano—others use an equal weight of each. Where plaster is not to be had, from five to ten bushels of pulverized charcoal or dust from the coal pit, or pulverized peat, to each hundred weight of guano may be used to fix the ammonia and prevent loss. Sulphuric acid 1 lb. to 10 of water, with which to sprinkle the mass may be used as a fixer. But if it is kept in the bags, in a dry room, until ready for use, and then prepared, sown and plowed in at once with as little exposure to the air as possible, very little of the ammonia will escape. The true axiom to be observed in the use of guano, is to plow it in as soon as possible after it is sown and before it is moistened with dew or rain; and to plow it in deep, or in some way thoroughly incorporate it with the soil, so that rains will not wash it away, or hot sunshine cause it to evaporate. We hold all top-dressings with guano, to be wasteful, on account of its volatile character, and because it needs the moisture in the earth to fit the substance of which it is composed so its fertilizing properties can be taken up by the roots of the plants. If spread upon the surface, it must wait for a dissolving shower to carry it down to the roots; in the meantime, it is moistened by dews and evaporated by the sun, and carried off to enrich your neighbor's crops half as much as your own.

Preparing Land and Sowing.—When ready to plow the land for wheat, measure an acre and lay it off in lands 18 feet wide; put the guano in a pail and walk up one side and down the other with a moderate step throwing handfulls across at each step, and you will find you do not vary much from two hundred pounds to the acre. Never sow in a windy day if it can be avoided, nor faster than it can be plowed in the same day.

To prevent guano from getting into the mouth and nostrils.—Take a thin piece of sponge and wet it and tie over the mouth and nose. Whenever the dust accumulates, wash it out. If you must sow while the wind is blowing, mix earth enough with guano to prevent blowing away.

Depth it should be plowed in.—On light sandy land, there is no danger of its ever being plowed in too deep. On sandy loam, it ought to be plowed under at least six inches—eight inches would be better. On true loam, a less depth will answer, though we are strong advocates of deep plowing. On clayey loam, four inches will answer, and on clay, particularly in the Northern States, if well harrowed or put in with the cultivator, there will be no great loss of ammonia, as the clay is a great absorber of that volatile substance. This rule may in general be observed; upon the light lands of the south, it cannot be too deeply buried; in the clay lands, or in the more heavy, cold, or moist lands of the north, it may be covered too deep to benefit the first crop; but, if the after cultivation is good, whatever is planted will be sure to be benefitted. Upon granite soils, it will be of less value than silicious or aluminous ones. Though most valuable on poor sandy or worn out old fields like those of Virginia, already described, still it must not be rejected by the owner of any land which can be improved by manure, because this is a manure of the very best and most concentrated kind; containing more of the ingredients necessary to promote vegetable growth, in the exact proportion and combination, ready prepared for use, than any other substance in the known world. It is a fertilizing substance which none will reject who once learn its value, unless very deeply prejudiced. It is idle to reject it because the Peruvian Government wont let us have it at our own price, because we can profit by it at theirs. It is nonsense to say, it will answer in the moist climate of England, but not in our dry one. Truth deduced from experience, in several States, in various climates and soils, refutes all such sayings. Besides, it has been used with continued success in the burning sun and soils of Peru, ever since the conquest by the Spaniards, and, according to tradition for ages untold previous to that time.

Guano on Wheat.—We repeat, sow broadcast and plow in upon all light lands, deep; at the rate of 200 to 600 lbs. to the acre, as you can afford, or as the land requires—we believe in the small quantity and repeat the next sowing, to be by far the most judicious. On heavy lands you may harrow or cultivate it in, but the plow is better. It will do well on lands previously limed, but should never be mixed with lime or ashes, unless mixed with plaster or charcoal. If you must use it as a top dressing in the spring, mix a bushel of plaster with every hundred of guano, sow and harrow in—don't be afraid of injuring the wheat Always sow clover or grass on guanoed grain.

On Indian Corn.—Follow the same directions as for wheat, or if the land is already rich, and you wish to give the corn an early start, scatter at the rate of 100 to 200 lbs. guano in the furrow, and cover it two inches deep with another furrow and then drill the corn. Be sure and never let the seed come in contact with the guano, or you will kill it most certainly. Guanoed corn should be sowed in wheat, particularly whenever it has been dressed with a large quantity.

To growing Corn, if it is desirable to apply it, turn a furrow away from the row on each side and scatter in the bottom at the rate of 300 lbs. per acre, and turn back the earth immediately.

Green Corn—roasting ears—are improved in taste by guano beyond anything ever conceived of by the lovers of this luscious food.

Quantity per acre.—Thomas S. Pleasants of Petersburg, Va., a well-known writer upon agriculture, and who has had much practical experience ever since the first introduction of guano into this country, says:—"Corn is a gross feeder and will take up a greater quantity of guano than perhaps any other crop. I have known as much as 600 lbs. applied to the acre and the product was in proportion. Each hundred pounds will give an average product of ten bushels as various experiments have proved From the above mentioned application of 600 lbs. a product of 73 bushels was obtained, which left 13 bushels as the product of the soil alone. For corn, guano may be spread broadcast on the land and ploughed in as deeply as it is desirable to break the soil; or it may be strewed along deep furrows to be afterwards ridged over and the cultivation to be in only one direction. The best result I ever obtained was from this latter mode, when from land not capable of producing five bushels, I harvested a crop that could not have been less than 35 bushels to the acre.

"The furrows were opened deep and wide by passing the plow both ways and the guano strewed along these at the rate 1 lb. per every ten yards. They were then covered over and the land thereby thrown into beds. But in whatever way it is used, the roots of the corn will be sure to find it all, and between these two modes, I think there is little or no choice. I would certainly advise against putting it in the hill, though I have sometimes seen good results. It is difficult, however, in such a case, to prevent the guano and seed from coming into close contact; and, unless there are two or three inches of earth interposed between them the seed will be certainly destroyed."

For wheat, the guano should be spread broadcast at the time of seeding the wheat, at the rate of 200 lbs. to 250 lbs. per acre and ploughed in. If the land has been previously fallowed, it will be sufficient to plow it in with a one horse plow; if broken up for the first time, there will be no objection to using a larger plough. The best depth for getting it in, however, is, I think, from four to six inches. It always acts more powerfully on clean land; indeed if there is much crude vegetable matter in the soil, there is frequently little or no advantage derived from its application. Experience, therefore goes to show that the most economical application is to corn land; that is, to land that has just produced a crop of corn, no matter how poor it may be. If it is intended to be put on land that has been lying in grass, it would be advisable to fallow it as early in the season as practicable, and afterwards to get it in with a small plow as already suggested.

The same direction will apply to oats and also to rye. But for oats, 125 to 150 lbs of guano will be as much as can be used to advantage.

A. B. Allen of New York, one of the earliest, and most strenuous advocates of using guano, who, long before he ever thought of being engaged in its sale, used to distribute small parcels among farmers and gardeners to enable them to try experiments and learn its value, in a letter to the Southern Cultivator, says:—"Never put guano in the hill with corn, no matter if covered two or three inches deep; for the roots will be certain to find it, and so sure as they touch the guano, so caustic is it, that it will certainly kill the corn; the same with peas, beans, melon vines, in fact most vegetable crops. Wheat and other small grains have so many roots, and tiller so well, there is no danger of guano killing them, when sown directly with the seed. Still, as before remarked, it is better to plough it in before sowing the seed.

"After corn is up, you may apply a table spoonful, at the first time hoeing; dig it an inch or two deep six inches from each stalk. A table spoonful to the hill will take 250 to 350 lbs., per acre, according to the distance the hills are apart. If the soil be rather poor, a second dose at the time the corn first shows its silk, will add considerably to the yield in grain, if followed by rains, but little or nothing to the growth of stalk. Guano increases the size of grain more than stalks; hence one must be content to wait till the grain is fully matured before giving an opinion of the virtues of guano.

"Before applying the guano, it is better to mix it well with an equal quantity of plaster of Paris or charcoal dust. Either of these substances help to retain the ammonia and prevent its evaporation.

"The genuine unadulterated Peruvian guano, is so much superior to any other kind, it is in reality the cheapest, though the price is considerable higher than that of the other qualities."

Guano on Oats.—Mr. Allen says, "I am satisfied from experience and observation in the use of guano, for the past twelve years, that the best method, decidedly, of applying it to crops in our dry climate, is to plow or spade it into the ground; and autumn is the best time for doing this, as it gives time for the pungent salts contained in the guano, to get thoroughly mixed with the soil before spring planting. Do not fear to loose the guano by plowing it in as deep as you please—it will not run away, depend upon it. At the south, it loses half its virtue if not plowed in at least three inches deep; six or twelve inches would be still better."

Because "autumn is, for many reasons, the best season" for applying guano, as a general thing, we do not recommend an application to this crop, notwithstanding our full conviction it will increase the product upon any light, poor soil, from ten to twenty bushels to the acre, for each cwt. applied. As some however, will find it more convenient and profitable to manure the oat than wheat crop, we recommend them to plow in from 200 to 300 lbs. to the acre, on ground that was clean tilled the previous year, and sow the oats in drills, three or four bushels to the acre and seed with clover, herds, or ray grass. If not to be followed with grass, we would use a much less quantity; say 125 or 150 lbs. to the acre. As may be seen in the account of Mr. Harris' crop, not one half of the 400 lbs. was taken up by the oats. With wheat, on the contrary, the guano is dissolved more slowly by winter rains, giving the crop a vigorous growth in fall, and sometimes all winter, so it sends out double the number of stalks in spring. The sun too, is so much less powerful at that season, evaporation does not take place so easily as in summer.

Great Crops from Guano.—In England, 48 bushels of wheat and 100 of oats have been made from an acre dressed with 200 lbs. of guano. A late English writer, in detailing his own experiments, and urging others to the same course, says; "The reason guano is serviceable to all plants arises from its containing every saline and organic matter required as food. It is used beneficially on all soils; for, as it contains every element necessary to plants, it is independent of the quality of the soil. So far as the experiments in England and Scotland may be adduced, one cwt. of guano is equal to about five tons of farm-yard manure, on an average; but it is much higher for turnips than for grass."

Guano on Grass.—As we are opposed to using it as a top dressing, of course we shall not recommend its application to this crop. Generally, by using it on wheat and other crops, the farmer will save manure enough to top dress his meadows. Nevertheless, in combination with proper ingredients, we do say it is a good and profitable manure for grass. For each acre mix from 200 to 400 lbs. with as many bushels of plaster, or ten to one of charcoal, or twenty to one of dry swamp muck or peat, woods mould or fine clay, and sow upon the meadow or pasture early in spring. If the season is moist, the benefit will be very great; if dry, it will probably be said, as it has been before; "Oh, this guano is good for nothing—I tried it once on grass and it never done a bit of good."

On potatoes, 400 lbs. to the acre, broadcast, may be used to good advantage, if it is plowed in deep enough, on clean land. As it is a caustic manure, and requires a good deal of moisture, as well as potatoes, it is not suitable for the hill or surface dressing. A less quantity will pay a greater profit to the immediate crop, without much after benefit, if it is drilled in the bottom of a deep furrow and then covered by turning two furrows, one from each side, so as to leave a slight depression between them, and directly over the guano. Upon these beds plant the tubers in drills. After hoeing, scatter a mixture of equal parts of lime, salt, ashes and plaster, a large handful every yard, all over the rows, and we will warrant the crop free from the potato rot.

On turnips, nothing can exceed guano, unless the phosphate of lime in bones could be rendered equally pulverulent. Use 3 to 600 lbs. per acre, and plow it in at the last plowing, and top dress with five bushels of ashes and two of salt as soon as the turnips are up. Follow with wheat or rye and grass. One half the above quantity and five bushels of bone dust dissolved in sulphuric acid, will produce a wonderful crop of turnips, or ruta bagas. Guano may be used to equal advantage upon all kinds of root crops.

Benefits to the Dairy Farmer.—The beneficial use of guano in the manufacture of butter and cheese, is unquestionable. In many districts in England, and in some in this country, the continual cropping of grass and conversion of it into cheese, has so exhausted the soil of its phosphates, the milk will no longer produce the quantity of casein necessary to make cheese making profitable. When this is the case, you will find the cows seeking to supply the deficiency by eating bones. Wherever guano has been used upon pasture land, it is found that cows eat the increased luxuriant grass most greedily, and improve not only in quantity but quality of their milk. We cannot, therefore, recommend too earnestly, to all dairy farmers, to give their pasture lands an immediate dressing of guano. If you have not full faith in what we are telling you, try an experiment for yourself. Mix 200 or 300 lbs. of guano with two or three bushels of plaster, and that with two or three loads of charcoal dust from the bottom of some coal pit, or from burnt peat, or swamp muck; or, if the charcoal is not attainable, use woods mold, or powdered clay or fine loam, to any extent you can afford; and if you can afford nothing but the guano and plaster, don't fail to afford a dressing of that, because it will afford you a rich return. No other manure can be used upon pasture land, to produce the same effect. Cattle never reject the grass of guanoed land, as they do that lately manured.

On Flax.—Experiments in England have proved guano superior to any other substance ever applied to this crop. With the aid of this manure, farmers will never complain of flax exhausting the soil. With 300 lbs. per acre, successive large crops can be grown upon the same ground. It should be plowed in, but not so deeply as for some other crops, as it is not expected to benefit succeeding ones as much as the present. As soon as the "flax cotton" movement now progressing is fully understood, there will be immense fields of flax grown for that purpose, and the best and most economical fertilizing material, and for which there will be a large demand, will be Peruvian guano; for no good farmer will attempt to grow a crop without it. A top dressing of 25 or 30 bushels of ashes to the acre will be found beneficial; but farmers ought to try which is best, more guano and less or no ashes, or the reverse. We cannot advise rotation with this crop, where guano is used, because the ground becomes so clean and free from weeds, it is of great advantage, and so far as we are informed, continuous good crops result from the annual application of the same quantity of guano, year after year.

On Cabbages.—Field culture. After the ground is well prepared, lay it off in checks three to four feet square. With a spade, throw out a deep spit at each check and put in a spoonful of guano, or at the rate of 400 lbs. per acre, and cover with soil. Set the plants immediately and water if possible. After the first hoeing, throw a handful of ashes on each plant.

For Carrots, Beets and Parsnips, plow in 500 lbs. per acre, twelve to eighteen inches deep. Top dress with ashes, salt, and fine manure in compost, to assist the young plants; the long roots will find the guano and it will produce such a crop as you never saw before.

On Hops.—Make a mixture of three cwt. of guano, one of salt, one and a half of saltpetre, and one of gypsum, for each acre; sow broadcast and plow in about four inches deep, and you will find your manure well paid for, and no exhaustion of the soil, as is usually the case wherever this crop is cultivated, as it is a very gross feeder, and requires very rich land or great deal of manure; for which reason it is not as much cultivated as it will be as soon as the virtues of the above application become fully known.

For Tobacco, guano has been found to possess superior qualities, particularly in obviating the difficulty heretofore experienced in getting plants sufficiently early. We have the testimony of several witnesses to prove that burning a seed bed is quite unnecessary, if guano at the rate of 400 to 600 lbs. to the acre be mixed with an equal amount of ashes, and plaster and well raked in previous to sowing. Of the effect upon the crop, we give the testimony of a Virginia planter.

"In the spring of 1850, I applied 200 lbs. to the acre, on eight acres of land, which had been manured three years before for tobacco, and the same quantity, on three acres which had never been manured, and was very poor. On the last I also turned in some half rotted straw, raked up in the barn yard, after all the farm yard manure had been hauled out. Between these two pieces of land, 19 acres were heavily manured. The whole 30 acres had been well broken with four horses, early in the winter. The last year was the worst I have ever known for tobacco. Nevertheless, the first eight acres produced a very fine crop—the last three acres brought much better tobacco than the adjoining manured land, I should say not less than 600 lbs. to the acre."

Wheat on Guanoed Tobacco Land.—This field was sown with wheat, and the writer says—"I measured from these 30 acres next year upwards of 600 bushels of wheat of very fine quality; both pieces of guanoed land being above the average of the whole lot. Adjoining the three acres is an equal quantity of land of the same quality, which did not yield five bushels to the acre."

Of the effect upon another crop of wheat, the same gentleman says—"Two years ago I purchased three tons, two of which I applied to 20 acres of a James River hill, which though not gullied, had been a good deal worn by hard croppings, or bad cultivation, or both combined. The Guano was sowed dry, and on the wide rows laid off for sowing wheat, and ploughed in with two horses, the wheat then harrowed in. I forgot to say that the land had been fallowed in with three horses in the month of August, and the wheat sowed in October. In consequence of the dryness of the guano, and the width of the rows, the wheat was very much striped, being very luxuriant where the guano fell in the largest quantities. The product did not exceed 200 bushels, or 10 bushels to the acre, but the quality was so superior that I saved it all for seed."

"The land sowed two years ago, is now striped with clover, as it was with wheat."

This land is a tenacious red clay formation, from which the soil we presume has all been washed away "long time ago." No planter, he says, would have put such land in tobacco without heavy manuring; and yet it produced a fair crop of tobacco. Owing to distance from navigation, he could not use lime, or any heavy manure, and without guano he could not make crops, and, consequently could not make manure at home.

The editor of the American Farmer, in a note says—"Our correspondent appears to desire that his land should be brought to a state of fertility by the quickest practicable process, and from the beautiful results of his experiments with guano, we know of no agent to which he could look with so much certainty of success as to that very manure."

The quantity per acre for Tobacco.—We should recommend at least 400 lbs. sown broadcast and plowed in, on such land as described, not over four inches deep. The tobacco to be followed with wheat, the wheat with clover, the clover after one year with corn and then tobacco and guano again. The clover should have a bushel of plaster fall and spring. Whoever tries this will find the benefit of guano on tobacco. But there is one still greater benefit; we have been assured that the tobacco worm which it was supposed from his natural taste, nothing could nauseate, actually gets sick of guano, and refuses his accustomed food.

Another mode of applying it to tobacco has been practised successfully as follows:—Mark off the land in checks and put a small spoonful in each check, and cover up directly under the bed where the plant is to stand, three or four inches deep. To this a handful of ashes and plaster may be advantageously added. Guano does not give tobacco the rank flavor that is often acquired from high manuring.

Mr. Pleasants, although many experiments have failed, principally, as he believes, from improper application, says in a recent letter—"There is no actual reason why guano should not act as well on tobacco as any other crop. The failures are doubtless to be ascribed to the injudicious manner in which it has been applied. I can conceive of only one mode in which it can be used to advantage, and that is by strewing it along a deep furrow as described for corn; then bedding upon it and confining the cultivation to one direction. This has been my way of cultivating cabbages for the market for several years, and the guano has always acted promptly and powerfully. If chopped in at the base of the hill it would require a great quantity of rain to dissolve it and make it available to the young plants, for the conical shape of the hill has a tendency to shed the rain instead of absorbing it. I expect soon to receive very accurate results of a crop grown with guano, which Judge Nash represented to me as splendid. If I cultivated tobacco, I should have every confidence of success by planting it on ridges with the Guano buried at a considerable depth, say from four to six inches beneath the surface of the ridge—1 lb. to ten yards would be a sufficient quantity.