"In short, I consider guano good for any crop. For potatoes (that is Irish potatoes) I regard it as a specific manure. The quantity I apply is 3/4 lbs. to every ten yards put in the furrows as recommended for corn and tobacco, and then covered over about one inch with earth drawn from the sides of the furrows. After this the potato cuttings are planted and covered over with the plough or hoe. The quantity recommended is about right as far as my experience goes (which is of several years duration) if the cuttings are placed about two inches apart."

Guano for Cotton.—But few trials upon this crop have come to our knowledge, but such as have, indicate that it will prove one of the most valuable promoters of the growth of this staple product of America ever discovered. The analysis of cotton—stalk, seed and lint—compared with that of guano, is sufficient to prove the latter to be the very matter required to produce the former. We are assured upon the most reliable authority that guano will give an average increase of pound for pound upon any soil producing less than a bale per acre so that every pound of guano costing two and a half cents, will give a pound of cotton averaging at least 6¼ cents.

Mode of applying on Cotton Land.—Open a deep furrow and drill in the bottom at the rate of 400 lbs. to the acre, upon land usually producing 300 to 500 lbs. seed cotton, and less for a better quality of land, down to one-fourth the quantity. Bed on this as deep as you please; the moisture of the earth will disengage the ammonia and phosphates, and send their fertilizing properties up to the roots. Never use guano as a top-dressing for cotton. The seed will be found better matured, and consequently more valuable to manure another crop, besides being so much easier separated from the lint, which will be found as much improved in quality as quantity. For Sea Island planters, where manure is so valuable and so hard to obtain, we would earnestly recommend a thorough trial of guano. As the land for this crop is mostly prepared with hoes, care must be taken that the servants do not neglect to bury it at the very bottom of a good bed.

From the knowledge the writer has of the culture and value of long staple cotton, and the price and value of guano, he has no hesitation in expressing his honest conviction that a clear profit of two to four hundred per cent. may be made upon every dollar expended in the purchase and proper application of guano to that crop.

Guano, for all staple crops in the United States, is no longer an experiment. It has been clearly demonstrated, to be the cheapest and most valuable fertilizer, particularly for all poor, worn out, hard used and exhausted soils ever discovered; which no sensible man will neglect to profit by, as soon as he learns its value, unless prevented by deep prejudice or strong circumstances.

Application to Miscellaneous Crops.—Under this head we will give the experience of several individuals in various sections, soils and climates, in hopes it may encourage the doubtful, and direct those who are disposed to emerge from darkness into the light of scientific agriculture. A gentleman from Warsaw, Virginia, where the soil is generally a sandy loam, badly worn by long years of bad tillage, says, "My wheat looks finely, especially where I applied guano last fall. I put it in with the seed furrow about three inches deep, and also with double plow six inches deep, harrowing in the wheat frequently side by side. At this time I can see no difference in the wheat crop. I use a large wooden toothed harrow extending over the bed of ten feet, and an even soil, free from stone; they do admirable work and drill the wheat as if put in with the drill."

Willoughby Newton, whose operation we have already spoken of, says; "I do not believe it possible to improve a farm, on the old three shift system, of corn, wheat and pasture, without a large supply of foreign manures. If clover can be substituted for pasture in the summer, then the land, if not naturally poor, may be rapidly improved by the use of lime alone, in addition to the putrescent manures that may, by proper care, be made on the farm. On other land of less fertility, and drier, I greatly prefer the five field system, under which, with the use of lime, guano and clover, a rapid improvement may be effected at the same time that heavy crops of wheat are reaped."

Another writer in speaking of how to improve worn out lands, says; "Let whatever little surplus he can spare from supplying the necessary wants of his family be laid out in the purchase of some one of the reliable concentrated manures. [Guano is by far the cheapest, and therefore the best for him, if he will plow it in well]. And my observation and experience have convinced me that he may make such improvement as will bring him a quick return, and soon enable him to get his farm well set in grass. This once effected, his facilities for its further improvement will assuredly increase in a ratio just in proportion as he is careful to pursue the course indicated. If a farmer can succeed in getting his fields well set in grass, a large and long array of facts and experience have proved that he may then, under a judicious course of management, render them more and more fertile without foreign aid of any kind whatever."

The editor of the American Farmer, in deprecating the price of guano says, "Of the efficacy of guano, in restoring worn out lands to productiveness—of its capacity to increase the yield of any lands in a sound condition—there cannot be a doubt; but even with all its regenerating properties, we do think that its market value is too high. Forty-eight dollars for a ton of 2,000 lbs. of Peruvian guano is more than it is intrinsically worth, and should it be continued thus high, must, we should think, limit its use, for the obvious reason, that farmers cannot afford to pay a price for it which is so disproportionate to its real value."

Yet they do continue to pay, and make it pay a greater profit than any other manure ever purchased. We hold to have done as much as any other individual to reduce the price of guano, and wish as heartily as does the editor of the Am. Farmer, it was only half the price it now is; yet, we must counsel our readers not to wait for that cheap time coming. It is now cheaper than it was then, and probably as low as it will be for years; and in the hands of the present agents, the public may depend upon a regular supply, and of genuine quality, at what the Peruvian government deem a fair price.

Guano for Melons and other Vines.—Mr. Pleasants, of whom we have before spoken, and whose long experience in the use of guano in connection with a market garden, entitle him to a high degree of credit, says, "I have been in the habit of using it for several years, and can testify to its value, not only using it for melons, but for the whole tribe of cucurbitacæ. The mode of application which I prefer is this; when the ground is prepared and checked off, remove the loose soil at the intersections of the furrows, leaving clear spaces on the substratum of not less than eighteen inches in diameter. Upon these spaces sprinkle guano, at the rate one pound to eight hills. Follow with a hilling or grubbing hoe, and incorporate the guano with the subsoil; then draw the loose earth back, and finish by chopping a small quantity, a spadeful or less, of well rotted manure into the hill near the surface. Guano placed near the surface, will remain almost inert, and buried deep, as I recommended, it will be too remote from the seed to give the young plants the quick start which is indispensable to an early crop of melons. The small quantity of manure near the top of the hill answers the purpose of immediate forcing, and enables the roots to strike rapidly into the guano, when the growth of the vines will be stimulated to such a degree as to cause them to mature their fruit a week or ten days earlier than they would do from either guano or manure alone. Melons equally fine may be raised from nothing but guano, applied in the manner directed; but they will not be an early crop, from the fact that the plants remain almost stationary until the roots reach the guano. Last year, from such a preparation as is now recommended, I had as fine a crop of melons as I ever saw; and they began to ripen at a very early period in the season. Two years ago, I had them nearly or quite as good from guano alone; but they were late. This year the crop was almost a failure, from the wetness of the season, which caused the vines to die. Cantelope melons, however, have produced abundantly, grown entirely with the aid of guano. Where manure is scarce, I have no doubt an admirable compost might be prepared, consisting of guano and rich earth. It should be made several weeks, or even months, before it is wanted for use; and the heap worked over frequently in order to bring it into a suitable condition. Such a compost would doubtless supply the place in the hill which I have assigned to the manure. For pumpkins, squashes, cymblins and cucumbers, when it is not particularly desirable to have them early, nothing more is necessary than to prepare the hills with guano."

The following extract from a letter of E. G. Booth, to F. C. Stainbrook, written in that plain familiar style of one friend to another, which characterises the man, with an evident intent to do good; though it was not designed for publication, we give it because we believe it will do others good, as well as the recipient. Mr. Booth confirms our opinion often expressed, that the poor old barren fields of lower Virginia, are really more valuable than the rich lands of the west; because, owing to facilities of intercourse with commercial cities by water, these lands can be bought, and cultivated by aid of guano, with more profit than the richest prairie farm in Illinois. Mr. Booth's testimony upon the durability of this manure, is enough to contradict all the assertions that "it is of no use for only one crop." On his land, strangers can easily tell where guano was applied four years previous.

"Yours of the third has been received, and it affords me pleasure to give you any information in my power. The wheat crop during the the winter was very unpromising. There was a general complaint that it was too thin. The Poland wheat (most generally sown in this neighborhood,) is said to branch more than other kinds, and I regard the present prospect of the wheat crop as flattering, particularly where guano was used. It is now a fixed fact, that no poor land ought to be cultivated without guano, by any person who can command the money or credit to buy it. It is remarkable that it pays a much better profit, or per cent. on the investment, on poor land, than rich. I was inclined for some time to believe that the difference was really in appearance alone. The difference of five bushels increase on land which without it would bring only fifteen—or in other words, an increase from fifteen to twenty bushels to the acre, would not be very perceptible, while an increase of five bushels on land previously making only five, would be very evident. Still, the real increase would be five bushels in each case. I am now however, decidedly of the opinion that it pays a much larger per cent. on poor than rich land; because it supplies that in which poor land is deficient, and of which rich land may have enough. I have it now in strips on a clover fallow, scarcely showing any difference. I last applied it on about the poorest land on my plantation, and the product was remarkable. This circumstance much reduces the difference between the value of poor and rich land, and admonishes us that there is not a plot in our wide extended surface, which need be abandoned or neglected. We can, if we manage properly, support a population which will out vote the West in 1865. There is another fact which experience confirms, that is it is much more durable than at first supposed. My visitors have been able to point out the strips of land on which it was sown, four years after its application. I noticed a very evident effect on the farm of Mr. William Fitzgerald, a few days ago. He last year put it in drills, and hilled on them for tobacco, in the fall the whole surface was sown in wheat, which is now growing in ridges corresponding with the furrows where it was placed.

"While on the subject I will mention another fact different from first impressions, viz: that it is more productive, (the first crop, at least,) when harrowed in with the grain, on the surface, than when turned in very deep. I have yet to satisfy myself which is most durable. In the experiment which lasted four years, I think it was turned in. The purchases the ensuing fall will be very large. Those who were most incredulous are now going in largely. A very intelligent and enterprising friend of mine, who has been improving his land judiciously and profitably in this way, related to me an anecdote which occurred to him. He had two neighbors remarkable for their judgment and success in farming as well as other things, who, however, were inclined to underrate his expenditure of money in these elements of improvement. They knew he had purchased and used a ton of guano, and thought they knew where he had used the whole of it. They went, not exactly by night, but rather privately, to examine into the result. They made their observations and calculations, and agreed that he had got his money back, but no profit worthy consideration, and were only confirmed in their opposition to such an expenditure. The truth was, however, that only about one eighth of the ton had been used where they calculated for the whole. One of these gentlemen, I am informed, is now about the largest purchaser of such articles in the county; and perhaps the other also, though I have not been informed."

PLASTER WITH GUANO.

A Virginia farmer, in a letter of December 1847, in speaking of using plaster with guano, and the effect says—"I am a firm believer in the merits of the mixture, and always use it. I have used it on turnips with decided effect, as decided as that following any application of guano I ever saw. Several farmers of my acquaintance used the mixture of guano and plaster, and stable manure and plaster habitually, like myself, and one told me he used it half and half, producing the most marked effect on wheat, and that a neighbor of his had used it in the same proportion with the same effect—the usual surprising effect of guano. For myself, I used some $400 worth of guano on wheat this fall, the whole of it mixed with plaster. I believe the effect of the mixture will not be so vigorous on the first crop, as guano by itself—the plaster husbanding the ammonia for succeeding crops, upon which the mixture, (if the theory be correct,) will have more effect than guano unmixed, that being exhausted by the first crop."

A gentleman after making sundry careful experiments with plaster and carbonate of ammonia, thus expresses his conclusions—"These experiments prove to me that no matter in what state, (whether wet, moist, or dry,) plaster is presented to guano, or any other manure from which the carbonate of ammonia is escaping, it must retain a certain amount of ammonia that would otherwise be lost in the atmosphere."

The editor of the American Farmer says—"If the soil be poor, and it be desired to permanently improve it, at least four hundred pounds of guano, without respect to the fixer used, should be spread broadcast, on every acre of it, and plowed in to the full depth of the furrow. If the land be in moderate heart, three hundred pounds will be enough per acre. Where the soil may be good, two hundred will be sufficient. These quantities, as the reader will observe, have relation to broadcast applications, as all should be where general improvement is contemplated; if compelled to confine his experiments on corn to applications in the hill, a form of manuring, we have ever disapproved, two hundred pounds, or even one hundred of guano, will manure an acre, mixed with a bushel of plaster, five bushels of slaked ashes, and a double horse cart of wood mould more effective than ten loads of manure applied in the hill."

Yes, as has been proved by careful experiment made in England, more than fourteen tons of manure. The editor also says, what we have so often repeated—"We hold these to be agricultural truths—that guano is most beneficially applied, when ploughed in as spread on the the earth, never less than four inches deep—and better, for permanent effect, to be ploughed in deeper, say six to eight inches—where it may be desirable only to bury it four inches deep, the land should be previously ploughed as deep as the furrow can be turned up, and the guano applied at a second ploughing—that all top-dressings with guano are wasteful, inasmuch, as from the volatile nature of the more active parts of the manure, great loss must inevitably result from all such applications, and because, more moisture than is to be found on the surface, is necessary to excite, and carry on, that healthful progressive state of decomposition, which is required to render guano most available for present production and future improvement.

"We do not hesitate to express the opinion, that when properly used, as an adjunct to lime or marl, that it will bring up any sound worn out land, to at least its original degree, if not a greater degree of fertility; provided its application be followed by clover. We believe that, when properly applied to land, either limed or marled the previous year, it will add twenty-five, thirty, and, in some instances, forty per cent. to the product of wheat; besides infusing into the soil, the capacity to grow luxuriant crops of clover, and thus fit it for profitable future culture. If it will do this, and we are certain it will, then it will achieve all that any agriculturist can reasonably expect of it, or of any other fertilizing agent; and we are very sure there is no other manure equally efficacious, within the reach of farmers and planters.

"Guano differs much in quality; that from Peru, is confessedly best of any which has yet been submitted to actual experiment by agriculturists, or tested by the analysis of chemists, being much richer in its nitrogenous element, than either the Patagonian or African variety."

He also says—"400 lbs. of guano and 1 bushel of plaster, will ensure a good crop of corn, so will 200 lbs. guano and eight bushels of bone earth, or 20 bushels of bone earth, 10 bushels of ashes and 1 bushel of plaster. Each to be ploughed in."

Much more might be said in favor of using plaster with guano, or some other fixer of ammonia, wherever it is exposed, on or near the surface. We add a few more extracts mainly to show that deep ploughing, and plentiful manuring, are the sure guarantee of bountiful crops. Bone-dust, except when used in the drill, should always be harrowed in. It should be put in bulk with other matters, and excited into an incipient state of decomposition before being used.

Guano should always be ploughed in, if practicable. Harrowing and cultivating in guano "have been practised both in this country and in England, by intelligent farmers; and in various instances have been spoken approvingly of, success having attended such applications in single crops; but we doubt whether much, if any permanent benefit were done to the soil, in qualifying it for the production of the subsequent crops of a course of rotation. In Peru it is used topically, but such applications are always followed by immediate irrigations of the soils to which it is applied, the Peruvians acting upon the philosophical principal, whether they comprehend its theory or not, that to secure the nutrient properties of this active fertilizer to their growing crops, it is essential that they provide an absorbent, and that they find in the water furnished by their processes of irrigation. Experience, practice, and irrigation have taught them, that unless they cause the carbonate of ammonia, and the various compound substances with which it exists in the guano, to descend speedily to the roots of their plants, that from the volatility of its more active and efficient elements, they will be expelled by the heat of the sun, escape into the air, and be lost for all the purposes of vegetable growth.

"But in view of the whole ground, taking into consideration the evanescent nature of any ammonia in guano in the compounds in which it exists, to be converted into that form, we honestly believe, that so far as lasting benefit to the land may be concerned, guano should be ploughed in.

"In all tolerably good Guano, there is a sufficiency of the carbonate already formed to carry on healthful vegetation, and therefore, it is best to place it sufficiently deep to prevent the waste of an element so essential to the growth of plants, and so liable to loss.

"It is possible where the soil had been, by repeated harrowings, reduced to a state of very fine tilth, that guano may be covered sufficiently deep with the Cultivator to become mixed with, and consequently be absorbed by the vegetable remains of the earth, and thus be prevented from loss by escape of its volatile gases; especially would this be the case, if the process of cultivating it in, were soon after followed by penetrating rains. In admitting this, we still adhere to the opinion, that so far as permanent benefits are concerned, the most economical mode of applying guano to the earth, is by the plough.

"As soon as the guano is ploughed in, the wheat should be sowed and harrowed in, in the usual way. In our climate we can sow wheat on the poorest corn ground late in November and have as fine a crop, and harvest it as soon, as we can obtain from well prepared and fallowed without guano sowed early in the season, For every 100 lbs. of guano, not exceeding 250 lbs. we calculate on reaping of an average season from six to seven bushels, sometimes eight. From a greater quantity though the product will be increased, yet it will not be increased in the same proportion, and 200 lbs will also be sufficient for the production of two good grass crops following the wheat and will then leave the land in an improved condition."

Charcoal and Guano.—The benefit of charcoal with guano will be understood from the following extract from "Scientific Agriculture," on the nature of charcoal and its use as a manure.—"Charcoal on account of its power of absorbing gases and destroying offensive odors, is a valuable addition to the soil; its operation as a manure is not so direct as some other manures; that is, it is not so useful on account of any element it furnishes to plants, as by the intermediate office which it performs, of absorbing and retaining in the soil those volatile matters which plants require, and which would otherwise escape and be lost. It is beneficial as a top-dressing, and as an ingredient in composts; it evolves carbonic acid in its decomposition, and is in this way directly useful to plants. Its powerful antiseptic properties render it very useful to young and tender plants, by keeping the soil free of putrifying substances, which would otherwise destroy their spongioles and prevent their growth."

And its capacity to absorb many times its bulk of gaseous matter, will always give it value as an absorbent of escaping ammonia from surface dressings of guano.

The editor of the Farmer also says—"In our climate, we should be opposed to all topical applications of any strongly concentrated manure like guano by itself,—and, indeed we should, under all circumstances, prefer to have it ploughed in, if practicable; but as we presume our correspondent has been prevented by circumstances, from using guano at the time of ploughing for wheat; and of course, must avail himself of the next best plan of deriving benefit from its use, we would advise, him next spring, as soon as the frost is out of the ground, and it is in a state to bear a team; to mix, in the proportion of 100 lbs. of guano, one bushel of fine charcoal, and one peck of plaster per acre, then to sow the mixture over his wheat field, lightly harrow the ground, and finish by rolling; and we have no hesitation in saying, that his wheat crop will be benefitted more than twice the cost of the manure. We say to him farther that he need not fear injuring his wheat plants by the operation of harrowing and rolling; for, on the contrary, it will act as a working, and prove of decided advantage. We feel very certain that the admixture of charcoal and plaster with guano, together with the covering it will receive by the harrowing, will prevent any material loss of the ammoniacal principles of the latter; as independent of the affinity existing between charcoal, plaster, and all nitrogeneous bodies, they will be greatly aided by the vital principle of the plants themselves. We are not, however, left to the lights of theory alone, in this matter, but have the experience of the Honorable Mr. Pearce, of Kent county, of this State, to guide us to a practical result,—he used, some years since, a top-dressing of guano and plaster upon his wheat field, and was rewarded by a large increase of crop."

A correspondent says—"I am satisfied from experience and observation in the use of guano for the last twelve years, that the best method, decidedly, of applying it to our crops in this dry climate, is to plow and spade it into the ground; and autumn is the best season 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 lose the guano, by plowing it 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 to twelve inches would be still better.

"Spread broadcast on grass land, late in the fall or early in the spring, if not plowed in before sowing buckwheat, rye or wheat, then spread it broadcast after sowing the grain, and harrow well and roll the land. This last operation is quite important."

Value of Guano on account of its Phosphates.—He who wishes to have the best grazing grounds, where he can present the richest and most nutritious herbage to his cattle, will keep his ground well supplied or manured with guano that abounds in phosphates, knowing that it will supply the needed nutriment to the grass, and by the grass to the cattle; and thus his stock will be kept in a high condition and full flesh, either for the farm or the market.

Again; he who raises wheat, corn, or other grains, has an equal inducement to look to it that his manures are abundantly impregnated with these essential elements. Phosphates, so available to the raiser of stock, are equally so to the producer of grain; because the size, richness, and nutritious qualities of the grain depend largely on the presence of these in the soil. A farmer, therefore, has a vital interest in this matter, and should obtain what best suits his purpose. The most intelligent English farmers are so well convinced on this point, that substances containing only ten per cent. of phosphate of lime, are sought after, dissolved in sulphuric acid and water, and sprinkled on the soil. Bone dust also is used, and to a certain extent, is available, because one of the principal constituents of bones, is phosphate of lime. But the article in which the phosphates are the most convenient, because the most minutely distributed, is guano; and this, when judiciously used, must find favor wherever it can be obtained.

That which contains a large proportion of phosphates, in combination with ammonia, nitrogen and alkaline salts, apparently in the exact proportion required by nature, such as analysis and experience proves is the case with Peruvian guano, will be sought after by every farmer who reads the evidence of its value which we have given in these pages.

It is idle to talk of bones to restore the waste of phosphates in the soil that is being constantly carried away in grass and grain, beef, pork, mutton, milk and cheese, much of which passes into the sea from the sewers of cities, to be there retained in that great reservoir for the future use of men. It is from that we are now drawing our present supplies. Happily for mankind in all civilized countries, the discovery of guano has, in a providential manner, met the very wants of the times, in reference to the reinvigoration of certain kinds of soil, since this manure furnishes the elements most needed to supply the waste arising from cultivation, and to develop vegetation.

The impossibility of procuring bones enough to supply the wants of the comparative few now engaged in using guano, may be readily learned by any farmer who uses ten tons of guano per annum, if he will undertake to "pick up bones" enough to furnish him the same amount of phosphates contained in that quantity of guano. Then if all who are now using it, would drop guano and take to bones, it would soon be found to be hard picking. Save all the bones and apply them to the soil, is a standing text with us; upon the same soil use all the guano your can procure and you will not need to pick bones—you will grow bones to pick. It may be very patriotic to talk about expending the money at home, for bones, instead of sending it to Peru, for guano; but that talk is all for Buncombe, there is not a particle of sound reason in it. If all the bones in the United States could be saved and applied to the land again, we should still fall short of a supply, and be obliged to do as England did before the introduction of guano; go about and ransack grave yards of great battlefields, for more bones. With all the guano imported, or that will be imported, and all the bones that will be saved, there will still be room for more phosphates in the millions of acres of hungry soil in America. What would be the effect if a few such farms as Willoughby Newton's, and Col. Carter's, who each use 30 to 40 tons per annum of guano, should come all at once into the bone market for their supplies. In our opinion there would be such a rattling among the dry bones, we should hear no more about substituting them for guano. The fact is an incontrovertible one, that nothing on earth nor under the earth, or in the sea, has ever been discovered, which can be used as a substitute for guano. Its small bulk is alone sufficient to commend it to favor.

The Royal Agricultural Society of England offers a prize of £1,000 and the gold medal of the society, for the discovery of a manure with equal fertilizing properties to the guano, of which an unlimited supply can be furnished in England, at £5 per ton.

"Analogy between Bones and Guano.—There is a striking analogy in composition between bones and guano, which is, for other reasons interesting to the practical man.

The following table exhibits the composition of bones compared with guano, supposing both in the dry state. Bones, as they are applied to to the land contain about 18 per cent. of water. Ichaboe guano from 20 to 25 per cent.

And these substances are found in guano already in a pulverulent state, while bones have to be reduced by mechanical or chemical means to the same condition before they are of any use as manure. Do not, we again repeat most emphatically, do not waste a bone; dissolve all you can get in sulphuric acid and mix with guano—save and make all the manure possible, both by the stable, compost heap and green crops, and then you will have money to buy guano, by which you can save the immense labor of hauling to distant fields, and still have the satisfaction of seeing them as fertile as those highly manured near home.

When the farmer raises crops for sale, and removes his grain and grasses from the land, he sells a portion of his soil; and if he does not renew in some way the saline matters taken away in his crops, he invariably impoverishes his farm. This work of exhaustion is now going on to an alarming extent, and the prolific wheat lands are to be searched for farther and farther westward as the operation proceeds.

Every one knows the superiority of wheat grown on newly cultivated lands, and most farmers are aware of the fact that soils become exhausted of something, they know not what, but of something essential to the most favorable production of grain. This something is found in guano, and by it the original fertility of land can be more easily, more certainly and cheaply restored than by any other means as yet discovered.

Professor Mapes in one of his letters of advice says; "As no farm, under ordinary usage, will supply as much manure as may be used upon it with profit, I am glad you intend to use guano, as it is an admirable manure, replete with many requirements of plants. The ammonia of the guano is in the form of a carbonate, and therefore so volatile as to escape from the soil into the atmosphere before plants can use it.

"You will readily perceive, therefore, that the sulphuric and phosphoric acids require amendments, and the ammonia should be changed from a carbonate to a sulphate of ammonia, which is not volatile. All this may be readily done by dissolving bone dust in dilute sulphuric acid, mixing it with the guano, and then with a sufficient amount of charcoal dust to render the mass dry and pulverulent. The more charcoal dust the better, as it absorbs and retains ammonia, and after it is in the soil, will continue to perform similar offices for many years, only yielding up ammonia as required by plants, and receiving new portions from rains, dews, &c."

If used as a top dressing, this change from a carbonate to a sulphate may be necessary; but not so if well mixed with the soil, particularly one in which clay predominates. In such a soil it is not even necessary to adhere to the direction to plow the guano deeply under. If it is but slightly harrowed in, the nature of the clay is such it will prevent the escape of the ammonia. If you require phosphates, more than ammonia, add the superphosphate of lime; but in no case omit the guano.

Use of Salt with Guano.—Common salt at the rate of a bushel to 100 lbs. of guano, well mixed, may be used to good advantage either as a top dressing, or when plowed in. The effect of the muriatic acid of the salt upon the guano will be, as both are dissolved in the earth, or by dews and rains, to form muriate of ammonia, which is not volatile; consequently the salt prevents loss by exhaustion, which is sure to take place when the guano is used as a top dressing, unless prevented by something to act as a fixer of the ammonia.

The wisdom of this law of nature in making the most precious saline manure a fixed and difficultly soluble salt, is at once obvious; for it is thus kept always ready in the soil for the plants to act upon according to their need. If we cut plants down before the seeds form, we have all the phosphates the plants contain diffused throughout them, and if we allow the seed to ripen, the phosphates, as before observed, will be found mostly in the seed. We find them in the state of phosphate of potash, phosphate of soda, phosphate of magnesia, and phosphate of lime, and probably, also, phosphate of ammonia. Now all these salts are essential to the growth and sustenance of animals, and without them grain would cease to be sufficient.

The necessity of restoring inorganic substances to the soil, may be better understood by examining the following table:

Mr. Prixdeaux states that the following quantities (of inorganic matters) are removed from an acre of soil by a crop of wheat, of 25 bushels of grain, and 3000 lbs. of straw—

Professor Johnson says—"Soils are barren either from the presence of a noxious principle or the absence of a necessary element. It is therefore highly important to be able to distinguish between the two cases.

"The art of culture is almost entirely a chemical art. Its processes are explained on chemical principals in part, but partly on mechanical and natural ones.

"All forms of matter may be divided into one of the two great groups—organic or inorganic matter."

In Peruvian guano, both these substances exist in a better and cheaper form than can be obtained from any other source.

The editor of the Genesee farmer, whose scientific information none can dispute, strongly corroborates this opinion. In a late number he says—If we admit that phosphate of lime is a necessary ingredient in a special manure for wheat—Peruvian guano would at present be much the cheapest source of it; for, in addition to the 16 per cent. of ammonia, it contains 20 per cent. of phosphate of lime in first-rate condition for assimilation by the plant, as well as other fertilizing ingredients of minor importance.

As a manure for wheat, therefore, we greatly prefer good Peruvian guano, even to the improved superphosphate of lime.

Difference in favor of Guano over Bone dust.—Robert Monteith, England, dressed oat ground with 276 lbs. guano per acre, cost 31 shillings, produce 59 bushels, value £7 7s 6d. Same quality of land with 10 bushels bone dust, cost 23 shillings and fourpence, produced 43 bushels value £5 7s 6d, which gives a balance in favor of guano of £1 12s 4d, or about $7 50 per acre.

Difference in favor of Guano over Manure.—The Yorkshire Agricultural Society of England, instituted a series of experiments several years ago for the purpose of working out practical facts in relation to guano, through a series of crops, upon different soils, by different persons, upon whose report the utmost reliance might be placed, so as to determine the value, or advantage to British farmers, who might use this extraordinary fertilizer. This report has just been published, and the following is a synopsis of the results. The experiments were arranged under the following heads—

1. To show the natural produce of the land, one part was to have no manure whatever.

2. Was to have twelve tons per acre of farm-yard dung.

3. Was to have six tons of dung, and one cwt. each of guano and dissolved coprolites; and

4. Was to have two cwt. of guano and two cwt. of the coprolites.

Other substances might be tried as additions, but these were to be the standard experiments.

Mr. Cholmeley's turnips, grown on a loamy soil had the heaviest crop on No. 3, the dung, coprolite, and guano, beating the farm-yard manure by some 5¾ tons per acre.

Mr. Johnson's experiments were tried with various manures singly; and his Peruvian guano gave the greatest weight of the class of substances tried; but 10 cubic yards of farm-yard manure had previously been applied to the whole land.

Mr. Maulevere's heaviest weight, also applied singly, was with the 12 tons of dung; but only 14 cwt. more than the dressing with 2 cwt. of coprolites. This soil was a light clay.

Mr. Newham's on a limestone soil, were the heaviest with No. 3—the same as Mr. Cholmeley's—and were 16 cwt. heavier than an application of dung alone.

Mr. Outhwaite's, on a hungry gravel, were the heaviest, with 9¾ tons of dung and 2 cwt. of guano, for all the land had been dunged at this rate, and exceeded 14½ tons of dung by 2 tons 9 cwt. per acre.

Mr. Scott's were the heaviest on No. 4,—the guano and coprolites, and 1 ton 7 cwt. more than 20 tons of dung,—his soil was a strong loam.

Mr. Wailes's were the heaviest, with 4 cwt. of coprolites, showing an increase over 20 tons of dung of 2 tons 9 cwt. per acre; the soil is a useful loam.

The first fact which strikes the observer, is, that as a general rule, there is not only an addition to the crop by the addition of those artificial manures, but there is, in some cases, more absolute crop produced by them than by farm-yard manure alone.

Now to bring this to the test of figures, the coprolites at £5 per ton, and the guano at £10 per ton, will be at the rate of 2 cwt of each, £1 10s per acre. Now assuming this to be equal to 20 tons of dung per acre, we should require to be able to produce the dung at 1s 6d per ton to cost us the same money. But it can be neither produced nor purchased at any such money. In the whole of the cases referred to, the manure is most costly, and yet we find hardly any case where there is not an addition to the crop, of say two to three tons of turnips per acre, by such an increase of manure as the guano. Now, if a ton of turnips be worth 10s., or even 9s, there is at once an element of repayment; for, if a soil be in a condition to give a large crop of turnips, it is almost certain to be capable of giving a large crop of any other plant to succeed.

Mr. Charnock gives it as the result of his practical experience, that 4 cwt. of Peruvian guano, without manure, is the cheapest and best mode of growing turnips; but the general testimony seems to be decidedly in favor of what all farmers find it the best and easiest to do, viz., to add a small quantity of artificial manure to that which the farm will supply, and so to spread the whole over the land, rather than put all the dung in one place, and all the artificial manure in another.

No one can doubt the true statement of this report, which proves $7 50. worth of guano equal to 20 tons of manure—reducing the worth of that to one shilling and sixpence—about 34 cents—per ton, or one dollar a cord. Now, as manure is often estimated in this country by the cord, and valued at about $4, and applied at the rate of 6 cords per acre, it follows that a saving of $14 50 per acre may be made by using 250 lbs. of guano instead of purchasing the manure. This Yorkshire experiment exactly corresponds with those made in this country, some of which we have detailed, and which proves that a farmer cannot buy manure at the common selling prices; and if he hauls his own the distance of a mile, he will expend more value of time, than it is worth to him on the land; because the same value of time—"time is money"—expended for guano, will bring him better returns. In this, as before stated, we are confirmed by Professor Mapes; and here is the opinion of Mr. Hovey of Boston, the eminent horticulturist, which we find in the August No. of his magazine, as follows—

"If, after such evidence as this, farmers will continue to buy ashes at eight cents a bushel, or manure at three to six dollars a cord, including carting, and use them alone, then let them do so, but they should not complain that their crop cost more than it comes to. To orchardists and fruit growers, this information is of the greatest value, and we trust they will not let it pass unheeded."

This opinion is valuable because it has been stoutly asserted, that however well guano might answer at the South, it was of no use in the hard soil and cold climate of New England. This is a fallacy which will soon be cured by knowledge, and self-interest is a very strong prompter towards the acquisition of the knowledge, that guano is the best, cheapest, most suitable, convenient and productive manure ever used by a New England farmer, and just as suitable for that climate and soil as it is for Virginia. We assert, without fear of successful contradiction, that there is not a farm—not a field—covered with five-finger vines and mullens, in the State of Massachusetts, which may not be made to produce as profitable crops, by the use of guano, as any Connecticut river farm. Farmers are about the hardest class of men in the world to learn new doctrines; or that science has anything to do with the business of this life, and what all other life in a civilized country is dependent upon. Yet science teaches, by unerring truths, that the plants the farmer cultivates, are composed of carbon, obtained by plants chiefly from the soil and atmosphere; oxygen and hydrogen, obtained by plants chiefly from water, carbonic acid, &c.; nitrogen obtained by plants chiefly from manure, and also from rain and snow; silicium, in combination with oxygen, called silicia or sand; lime in combination with phosphoric and other acids; potash and soda in combination with acids; magnesia, in combination with acids, and various oxides of metals, the presence of which, however, is not very important, as they exist in an exceedingly small quantity. And that guano is composed of ammonia (formed of nitrogen and hydrogen,) combined with carbonic, oxalic, phosphoric, and other acids; lime, combined with phosphoric oxalic, and other acids; potash and soda, combined with muriatic and sulphuric acids; magnesia, combined with phosphoric and other acids; animal organic matter, containing carbon, and also nitrogen.

Now, is it not enough to prove that all the ingredients, with the exception of the metallic oxides, exist in guano, which are required by the plants grown for the sustenance of man.

Putting guano into the soil, therefore, as a manure, is clearly restoring to the earth those substances which plants abstract from it, and which are absolutely necessary for their growth.

The questions, then, which the farmer should now ask are, "which is best for me to buy, guano or coarse manure?" The evidence just given answers that question. "I have manure, teams, and men to haul it; my fields are from one to three miles distant, is it economy for me to let my teams lay idle and buy guano?" By no means. But you can probably employ men and teams in other improvements to much better advantage. With your manure make all your home lots exceedingly rich. With your men and teams clear off stones, dig ditches to put them into, drain your land, or build fence—bring bog meadows and swamps into dry cultivation—send every little brook through artificial channels for irrigation—send water up from lowland springs and streams by hydraulic rams for the same purpose, and for stock on the hills; or bring it down from hillsides if you are so situated; and buy guano for those distant fields, instead of wasting time in the laborious operation of hauling manure. Those who use guano, are enabled by the saving of time, to say nothing of their increased profits, to make improvements which are utterly impossible to accomplish under the old system.

How to choose Guano.—As we are satisfied no sensible reader can have perused the preceding pages, without having come to the determination to make a trial for himself, we will give him some general instructions about buying guano.

In the first place, we lay it down as an incontrovertible axiom, that the Peruvian guano, at the current price for years of that and all other, is the cheapest and best, because it contains the largest amount of ammonia, in a perfectly dry state; as a carbonate, true, but because dry, it is permanent and not likely to loose by volatilization by long keeping.

If other varieties contain a larger proportion of phosphates, and are sold at a less price, experience proves they are not cheaper. If an additional quantity of phosphates is desirable, it can be obtained in a cheaper form from dissolved bones, or bone dust and shavings of bone workers; or from mineral phosphates of lime. Recollect, guano under no other name, has ever equalled the Peruvian, in the results as compared with the quality or cost.

Therefore buy none but Peruvian. To guard against deception, be careful of whom you buy. If you cannot buy directly from the agents, be sure the character of your merchant is a sufficient guarantee against adulteration.

To test the quality of Guano.—The best test is the price. Unlike other merchandise, this article is not subject to fluctuations. Being a government monopoly, the price at which the agents are to sell here is fixed in Peru, and that price may be easily known; therefore, if any dealer offers you Peruvian guano at "a reduced price," you may be sure the quality is reduced also. Remember, that the lowest price by the ship load, it can be procured for of the agents in Baltimore or New York is $46 per ton of 2240 lbs. To this, every fair, honest dealer, must add freight, insurance and profit. Every man who sells without such addition, you may be sure will make his profit by short weight or adulteration.

The next best test is its appearance. Good Peruvian guano is an impalpable powder, perfectly dry to the touch, of a uniform brownish yellow color, with a strong smell, like that of spirits of hartshorn, contained in ammoniacal smelling bottles. But the smell is no test; that which smells strongest may be worst, as the ammonia may be disengaged by moisture or by the addition of lime or salt.

The adulteration of guano is carried to a great extent in England, and probably will be in this country. The principal adulterations are made by the addition of loam, marl, sand, plaster, old lime, ashes, chalk, salt, moisture, and by mixture with other guano of a cheaper quality. The farmer need not depend upon the assertion, "this is a genuine article—here is the inspector's certificate." We would not give a straw for a corn basket full of certificates of analysis. The buyer must analyse for himself. Mr. Nesbit, analytical chemist, London, has just published a pamphlet from which we have condensed some very plain, short, simple rules for testing the quality of guano. As the adulterating substances are generally heavier than the guano, they may be detected by a comparison of weight and measure. To do this, get a small glass tube closed at one end, and weigh accurately an ounce of pure guano, put it in the tube and carefully mark the hight it fills—try several samples—if there is any difference, mark it. Now weigh an ounce from a sample adulterated with one fourth its bulk of any or all the preceding list of articles used for that purpose, and you will find the difference of bulk between that and the genuine, very perceptible.

Test by Burning.—Guano burnt to ashes at a red heat will leave an ash of a pearly white appearance, not varying in weight from 30 to 35 per cent. of the quantity burnt. If it is adulterated with marl, sand, clay, &c., the ash will be about 60 or 65 per cent, of the weight tested, and be colored with the iron always present in the adulterating substances, and which is never found in pure guano. This test, to be accurate, must be done with a nice pair of scales and a platinum cup, which may be heated over a spirit lamp. Ten grains of the guano are placed in the platinum cup, which is held by the tongs in the flame of the spirit lamp for several minutes, until the greater part of the organic matter is burnt away. It is allowed to cool for a short time, and a few drops of a strong solution of nitrate of ammonia added, to assist in consuming the carbon in the residue. The cup is again heated, (taking care to prevent its boiling over, or losing any of the ash,) until the moisture is quite evaporated. A full red heat must then be given it, when, if the guano be pure, the ash will be pearly white, and will not exceed 3½ grains in weight. If adulterated with sand, marl, &c., the ash will always be colored, and will weigh more than 3½ grains. Even the simple burning of a few grains of guano, on a red hot shovel, will often indicate by the color whether a fraud has been committed; but we cannot particularly recommend this method, as the iron of the shovel itself will sometimes give a tinge to the ash. This might be obviated by burning the sample on a common earthen plate.

If the adulteration of guano has been made by sand, it can be detected by dissolving the ashes in muriatic acid. The sand will remain—if it is more than one per cent., it has probably been added fraudulently. As iron exists in loam, it will show in the color of the ash if that is the substance used for adulteration. If lime has been added, it can be detected by dissolving the ash in muriatic acid and separating the sand, loam and iron, if present, by filtration, and then adding oxalate of ammonia to the liquid. If it shows more than a mere trace of lime, it has been falsified.

Test by salt.—Saturate a quart of water and strain it; pour some in a saucer and sprinkle guano upon the surface. Good guano sinks immediately, leaving only a slight scum. If it has been adulterated by any light or flocculent matters, they will be seen upon the surface of the brine.

Test by Acid.—Put a teaspoonful of guano in a wine glass and add a little vinegar or dilute muriatic acid. If ground limestone or chalk have been added, the effervessence will show it. A genuine article will only show a few bubbles.

Test by Water.—The following simple plan will easily detect all the ordinary adulterations of guano. Procure a wide mouthed bottle, with solid glass stopper; fill with water and insert the stopper; let the exterior be well dried. In one pan of accurate scales, place the bottle; counterpoise by shot, sand or gravel. Pour out two thirds of the water, and put in four ounces avoirdupois of guano. Agitate the bottle, add more water; let it rest a couple of minutes, and fill with water, so the froth all escapes; insert the stopper, wipe dry, and replace the bottle in the scale. Add now to the counterpoised scale, one and a half ounces avoirdupois, and a fourpenny piece; if the bottle prove the heavier, the guano is, in all probability, adulterated. Add in addition a three-penny piece, and if the bottle is still heaviest the guano is undoubtedly adulterated. By this simple experiment, a very small amount of sand, marl, &c., is detected.

If farmers will not use some of these simple tests, or employ a chemist to detect suspected adulteration; or if they will buy guano of men who have no character to lose, and who offer to sell below a price to afford them a living profit, they cannot be pitied if they are cheated.

Prepared Guano.—Never buy anything bearing that name, unless you wish to verify the adage of "the fool and his money are soon parted."

Analysis of Prepared Guano.—We give an analysis of one sample of domestic manufacture, and two British. No. 1. was offered in London and actually sold as Peruvian guano, to farmers in the south of England; just because they were so neglectful of their own interests as not to inform themselves that an article sold for $35 a ton, could not be genuine, while the regular government price remained fixed at $47. It may readily be seen by the analysis, how they were cheated into paying that price for an article of which 74 per cent. is plaster, and only half of one per cent. ammonia.