Part 5 (2/2)
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 quant.i.ties, 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 a.n.a.lysis 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 princ.i.p.al, 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 quant.i.ty 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 gra.s.s 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 circ.u.mstances, prefer to have it ploughed in, if practicable; but as we presume our correspondent has been prevented by circ.u.mstances, 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 gra.s.s 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 gra.s.s, and by the gra.s.s 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 princ.i.p.al const.i.tuents 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.
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