Guano Part 9

MR. THEO. RILEY, ESQ., Dear Sir:--In reply to your inquiry relative to the use of Peruvian guano on Long Island, I would say, forming my opinion from experience and observation that the mode of tillage--the rotation of crops, and the way of applying guano--are about as follows: Commence with corn, which is usually on green sward, after being mowed and pastured from four to six years.

First, plow in the spring as soon as the frost is out of the ground, which is generally about the 20th of March. Prepare the ground for planting the 1st of May, by harrowing well two or three times. Before the last time harrowing, apply about 250 or 300 lbs.

of guano to the acre, sown broadcast, and then mark out with plow, or lace, about four and a half feet apart, each way; apply a small quant.i.ty to the hill, one third of a gill is as much as will be safe, and that should be in the form of a ring about a foot in diameter, and the corn dropped in the center, otherwise it will be likely to kill the corn by the sprouts coming in contact with the guano when they first start. It will not do to put the guano in the hill and plant the corn upon it. It was not uncommon for farmers to have to plant their corn all over before they become acquainted with its effects; but as using it in the hill, in a pure state, is generally attended with some risk, it is the practice in this vicinity to use yard manure, at the rate of one third or half a shovelful to the hill; but as that manure is generally weak, they have adopted the very excellent plan of sprinkling say 50 lbs. of guano to a wagon load (30 bushels) of manure. As we cart the manure in the fall to the field where it is intended to be used the following spring, (1) the guano can be mixed through it with but little trouble, when it is turned and broken up just before use. It adds very much to the value of the manure, as the difference of harvesting plainly shows. Muck or pond dirt could be used in the same way, in place of manure. Some apply it about the hill at the time of hoeing. It should not be thrown on top, but sprinkled around the corn at the rate of half a gill per hill. After corn, we sow oats, or barley, or plants potatoes; if oats, plow once, sow 150 or 200 lbs. of guano, and two bushels of oats to the acre, and harrow in together. It pays well to use guano for oats, as the crop of oats will be doubled on ordinary lands; 50 and 60 bushels is frequently obtained, and the difference in the straw, is worth the expense of the guano.[2] Barley is not much sown; it would require a little more guano, say 50 lbs. additional. Potatoes, (Mercers) we plant from middle of March to first of May, after sowing broadcast from 400 to 600 lbs. of guano per acre, plowed in and harrowed over; then mark out with plow three feet apart, drop in drills about a foot apart. Some prefer it in the drills, at the rate of what they can grasp in one hand to a pace of two and a half feet; it should be sprinkled so too much will not come in contact with the seed. After oats or potatoes, sow wheat, about first of October; if on oats, plow as soon as the oats are off; when ready to sow, apply from 500 to 700 lbs. of guano per acre, cross plow, and your ground is ready for the seed. As to the varieties of wheat, there are several kinds used; the Mediterranean is the most popular at present--one and a half bushels is generally sown to the acre, and the land laid down to gra.s.s, with timothy and clover.

Some apply less at time of sowing, and add 100 or 150 lbs. per acre in the spring, just as the gra.s.s is starting, say first of April.

If wheat is sown after potatoes, about the same treatment is given, except 100 lbs. less guano will answer. Some harrow in guano, instead of plowing it under; but experience shows that it is much the best to plow it in, as the virtue remains in the ground much longer, by being covered deep. Peruvian guano will produce the best wheat of anything we can use, even if we should go to double the expense with other manures. Crops of 30 and sometimes 40 bushels have been obtained to the acre with guano. The average crop of wheat on the Island, is not over 18 bushels per acre, and with 700 lbs. of guano plowed in pretty deep, the land can be mowed about as long as from an application of stable manure. But as hay is a most important crop, after it has been mowed for two or three years, it is considered profitable to top dress with about 150 lbs. per acre; this will increase the crop from one ton to two per acre, if a fair season, and can be mowed two or three years longer. Rye is sown in many instances, in place of wheat; it gets the same treatment, except half the quant.i.ty of guano is only used. Buckwheat requires about 100 lbs. of guano to the acre, more or less, according to the state of the land.

For ruta baga turnips, there should be 600 lbs. sown to the acre; plow twice and harrow well after sown. After you have hoed them out, give them a light top dressing of more guano. I have raised at the rate of 700 bushels, managed in that way, to the acre. We have had one of the most extreme drouths the present season I ever remember. Crops on which guano was used, have suffered less, and are now yielding better than where stable manure has been used.

This is quite different from the opinion that some have formed, as to guano requiring a wet season. To prepare guano for use, it should first be sifted, to separate the lumps, so that they may be pulverized, then dampen by sprinkling with water, and mixed through with a shovel. This should be done a few days before you wish to use it, so as to allow the dampness to strike through uniform. (3) I have not had any experience with compost, or using it on garden vegetables, or plants, except I know it should be used in homeopathic doses, or it will destroy more than it will produce. As to the soil, guano answers well anywhere on Long Island, although some parts of the Island has a very different soil from others, with one exception; that is, it is all hungry for manure. I therefore do not know the kind of soil it is most applicable to, since it seems to suit all kinds.

SETH CHAPMAN."

NOTE 1. This practice of hauling manure to the field in the fall, is the worst of all the foolish old fashions of farmers. To preserve the virtue, of manure, it requires housing about as much as hay. In fact, it is doubtful which would lose virtue fastest, a pile of hay or a pile of manure, exposed to the storms of winter. It is no wonder that it becomes necessary to mix guano with it, to replace that which has evaporated during its long exposure to sun and storm.

NOTE 2. This increase of straw, is seldom taken into account in speaking of the advantage of an application of guano; yet, as Mr.

Chapman says, it is worth enough in the vicinity of a market, to pay the whole expense. It is also valuable in the interior for forage and manure.

NOTE 3. This is an error. Guano should not be damped unless with water saturated with salt, copperas, or a liberal sprinkle of plaster over the pile.

LETTER FROM SETH RAVNOR, OF MANORVILLE TO MR.

CHAPMAN.--Successful experiments on gra.s.s, oats, corn, wheat and rye.

"_Manorville, Sept._ 8, 1852.

S. CHAPMAN, ESQ.--Dear Sir;--I have received your circular proposing to gather information from practical farmers of the results from the use of guano, and to have the same published for general circulation. Conceiving the object to be a very laudable one, I will give the result of a few experiments tried with Peruvian guano by myself, and others which have come under my observation; but in doing so I think it would be of great utility to state what kind of soil the guano was applied to. Not being a professor of geology, I can only use such terms as are familiar with farmers generally. The soils in this vicinity are heavy loam, sandy loam, sandy, and occasionally some heavy clayey soils.

First, as to the nature of guano. It is generally considered to be more of a stimulant than an enricher of the soil, if applied in its natural state, and much more durable to be plowed in than to be harrowed in; and as far as I have tried it, I have not found it to be injurious to soils--or as some call it, 'kill the soil.' In the year '49 I applied on the first of April, 176 lbs. per acre on sandy loam gra.s.s ground--yield, about half a ton more than the acre adjoining. Same year applied about 150 lbs. to the acre, on four acres of oats, same kind of soil, and the estimated increase was 20 bushels to the acre. In 1850 plowed under 400 pounds per acre, for corn, estimated increase, 15 bushels of ears. The season was rather unfavorable for corn. In '51 composted six bushels charcoal dust to 100 lbs. guano, and plowed under for wheat, at the rate of 500 lbs.

of guano so composted, to the acre, and top dressed with 100 bushels of leached ashes--yield, 20 bushels. One of my neighbors applied for three years in succession, 100 lbs. harrowed in with rye, on two acres light sand--yield, 14 bushels to the acre; 10 bushels more than the acre adjoining. On the fourth year he sowed the same ground without guano--- yield, 4 bushels to the acre. We see by this, that the crop used the whole strength of the guano.

Another neighbor applied one ton to two acres, heavy loam; plowed under and sowed with turnips (common Russian)--yield, 1,300 bushels--estimated increase from the guano, 600 bushels. People in this section of the Island are agreed in this--plow under guano for durability, and harrow in for present benefit, or present crop. For wheat, 500 lbs. plowed in is considered a full dressing per acre.

The same for corn. For oats, 200 lbs. harrowed in. For buckwheat, 100 lbs., and 200 for barley. One tablespoonful applied in a hill, for corn, is quite enough, and that requires to be put some six inches from the seed; otherwise it will kill it. Some have lost acres by putting their corn on that little quant.i.ty; the only safe way to apply in the hill for potatoes, is the same as for corn. I have come to the conclusion from what experience I have had with the article, that it answers the best purpose to use it for spring crops, in the manner above stated, or compost it with charcoal dust, or well decomposed pond mud, to absorb and retain the ammonia, it being very volatile in its nature. I have not written this for publication; I have only thrown out a few hints for you to embody.

SETH RAYNOR."

Although the above was not written for publication, we prefer to give it just as it was written, in the plain style of one farmer to another.

INTERESTING LETTER FROM EDWARD H. SEAMAN, ESQ., SEC. OF QUEENS CO.

AG. SOC.--Successful experiments since 1847--Great increase of straw and wheat--Harrowing in guano, 300 lbs. to the acre, produced 41 bushels of wheat. Increase, seven bushels for each 100 lbs--Thirty bushels of wheat per acre on an old worn out buckwheat field--Advantage of guano in drouth--astonishing effects from top dressing gra.s.s.

_Cherrywood, Sept. 11th, 1852._

MR. SETH CHAPMAN--Dear Sir,--I forward according to request, the results of several years use of Peruvian Guano, upon my farm at Jerusalem, Long Island.

The first decisive benefit from guano that I shall notice, was obtained from using it for wheat, as a top-dressing. In 1847, October 1st, I took a field containing 6 acres of oat stubble, on which I used some manure, all over the field; top-dressed with Peruvian guano, at the rate of 300 lbs. per acre, sown (fortunately just before a storm,) upon the furrow and harrowed in with the wheat. Four acres of the field were sown with the old-fashioned red flint wheat, which requires more manure than any other kind among us. The rest of the field was sown with a soft white hulled wheat, the name of which I do not remember. July 5, 1848.--Harvested said field--Red wheat yielded well from straw, 14 sheaves to the bushel--white wheat 20 sheaves to the bushel--straw very large and thick. Had 164 bushels of wheat, or 41 bushels per acre; and 58 bushels of white wheat or 29 bushels per acre; without the guano I think I could not have obtained much over 20 bushels per acre.--1848, Oct. 2. Again sowed wheat upon a six acre lot of oat stubble; seed red flint wheat--manured about the same as previous year--used 300 lbs. guano per acre, as top-dressing for 4 acres and moss bunker fish dirt at the rate of 10,000 per acre upon the two acres, sowed upon the furrow, and harrowed in just previous to a storm--Harvested the 10th of July 1849. The straw very large, and wheat heads long, but grain very much injured by fly or weevil--very little difference between fish and guano top-dressing; yield 188 shocks--175 bushels; not quite 30 bushels per acre. Same ground would not have produced more than 18 to 20 bushels wheat per acre without the guano--or some other more expensive manure. 1849.

Oct. 3. Sowed wheat upon oat stubble field; soil thin and gravelly upon part of the field--used some barnyard manure, but not as much as previous year. Top-dressed with 300 lbs. guano and 12 bushels ground bones per acre--Harvested 12th July 1850--Yield of 5-1/2 acres 160 shocks; injured some by weevil, and shrunken, but had 145 bushels or twenty-six bushels per acre. This ground would not have yielded fifteen bushels per acre without the guano. But the most decisive result was obtained the next year, upon an oat stubble field of six acres, a part of which had been cropped, for perhaps 15 years, nearly alternately with rye and buckwheat; (sometimes a crop of each in one year.) The whole field seemed so far exhausted that we had failed to get a crop of corn or oats from it after two different trials; and I underwent no small share of ridicule from my neighbors, while preparing it for wheat. Remarks like the following were of daily occurrence--"Ah! Seaman you will fail this time." "You have not got your old highly manured fields to exhaust this time by your stimulating stuff!" "We shall now see whether guano is good for anything--this will be a fair test, because the land will not produce anything without it, &c." "You may get about 12 bushels of wheat per acre; we shall see." All agreed however, that if wheat did grow, guano should have the credit for it.

Well, we prepared the ground in about the usual manner, except perhaps plowing a little deeper than in former years. A small quant.i.ty of manure was plowed under, and a top dressing of ground bones given and sowed about the last of September--2 acres with Mediterranean and 4 acres with the red flint wheat--but owing to a scarcity of the article, could only get about 420 lbs. of guano, which was sown across the field upon not quite 3 acres, covering some of each kind of wheat; it was sown upon the furrow, and harrowed in with the wheat as usual. In 1851, April 11th, top dressed the whole field with guano, at about 200 lbs. per acre; harvested about the 8th July. The 2 acres of Mediterranean yielded 61 bushels; flint wheat straw very large, and thick upon the ground, but grain much injured by the weevil; yielding an average of 23 bushels per acre. I may remark, that where the guano was applied in the autumn, the crop was quite one third greater than where it only received the spring dressing. The last year I managed much in the same way, except that I fell short of manure, and depended entirely upon guano and bone upon a part of the field, from which part, though I have not yet threshed it, I think I shall get 18 to 20 bushels. The rest of the field was very large and considered the best between this place and Brooklyn, on a road of 25 miles in length.

My _good luck_(1) at wheat growing is now a conceded point. Now for other crops--for corn I have not been very successful; generally mixing some guano with earth in the hill at the time of planting and getting but few plants to stand; these, however, generally have been heavily eared. By mixing previously with charcoal dust I think this burning of the seed might be avoided.(2)

For buckwheat, I used 120 to 150 lbs. per acre, sown upon the furrow and harrowed in with the grain. For barley, 150 to 200 lbs.

per acre; oats 100 to 120 lbs; turnips, 600 to 700 lbs. plowed under a short depth, previously to forming the drill; and I find a decided profit in using guano for all the above crops. I have seen a field of corn the present season very greatly improved in earing by the application of about 150 lbs. of guano, mixed with 5 parts charcoal dust, and thrown around the hills a few weeks since during a rain storm.

I have also used guano and charcoal dust, five parts coal to one of guano, in my garden, the past season, and found the beds thus dressed stood the extreme drought better than other parts of the garden. One more case of my own and I am done. In 1851, I sowed about 90 lbs. of guano, on a piece of meadow or mowing ground, covering a little more than half an acre, from which the timothy and clover was nearly gone; I took 3 lands across the lot, leaving about 20 feet between each land. Where the guano was sown, the timothy grew large and thick and bore the drought, and yielded about one and a half tons per acre; while the rest of the field did not produce more than half that amount, and that of an inferior quality of gra.s.s. The corn upon the same field the present season, shows plainly a better yield from the above top-dressing. From observation and experience, I would recommend the mixing of guano with charcoal dust, equal parts, or five parts coal to one guano, It is much more pleasant to handle when thus mixed, being completely deodorized and rendered much more enduring as a manure, by retaining the ammonia for several years, instead of allowing the greater part to pa.s.s off the first season, as is the case when applied in a crude state, especially as a top dressing.

Prepared or decomposed muck if used with guano as a retainer of the volatile gases, in all cases where it can be conveniently obtained especially in soils where evaporation is so rapid as it is in most parts of Long Island, will pay.

That like produces like, is a favorite maxim with me--that it is necessary to replace the matter, both organic and inorganic, which we take from the soil in the form of crops, of various kinds--that by supplying the necessary chemical ingredients, we shall be able to draw a great proportion of our crops from atmospheric agents--that the necessity for using such an immense amount of organic matter as we now use in the shape of barn yard and stable manure will be partially overcome--that a great saving of expense will thereby ensue--that guano is one of the most active agents to effect such a result I am fully satisfied, not sufficient perhaps of itself, but highly useful even in a crude state--and capable when skillfully combined with others, to effect an entire revolution in our system of agriculture.

If you think the above worth an insertion in the pamphlet you spoke of, you are at liberty to insert it--if not, you will please return the letter to me, as soon as convenient, and if you think it will pa.s.s off any better, you may affix the following signature to the communication.

EDWARD H. SEAMAN, Recording Secretary, Queen's Co. Agricultural Society.

NOTE 1.--Yes, that is the word--_good luck_--it is all good luck. It is astonishing how many farmers there are in this country who will stand with their hands in their breeches pockets, fumbling idle dollars, while a neighbor expends his for guano, and produces a fine crop of wheat upon an old worn out buckwheat field; at which they stare in stupid wonder at the good luck of the thing.

What a pity it had not been the good luck of such men to have been born with common sense enough to profit themselves by their neighbors good luck.

NOTE 2.--It would be far better to sow the guano broadcast and plow it in, or scatter it in drills and turn a light furrow on it before planting.

"_Hempstead, Aug.27, 1852._

SETH CHAPMAN, ESQ.--Dear Sir:--I believe I was the first person in Queens County using guano; having imported some from England in the ship Yorkshire, in 1842. This was from the Ichaboe Islands. I have since used nearly all the varieties, and consider the Peruvian the cheapest and best.

In applying guano, I think by making a compost, the greatest benefit is derived; say one peck of plaster, one bushel of loam, two of saw dust, mixed up a month or six weeks before using. From 100 to 200 lbs. of guano is enough for a crop of oats or buckwheat.

I have not found it to succeed with corn or potatoes; probably from being accompanied by a dry season. The best wheat I ever raised was from using 350 lbs. to the acre, composted. This was on a light soil, and returned 31 bushels to the acre, on seven acres, weighing 62 lbs. The gra.s.s was poor after it. As a top dresser, I have used 200 lbs. per acre, very early in the spring, on half a lot, which mowed more than half as much again as the part not dressed. One of my neighbors has used 300 lbs. per acre, plowed in for potatoes; the yield, good, so far, having just commenced digging.

JOHN HAROLD."

We might give much more evidence of the same kind, to prove that every barren acre upon Long Island, might be made productive by a judicious and profitable application of guano; but if there are any persons, who, after reading these pages, are still doubting, we must say they are most incorrigably determined not to profit by the experience of others. To such it would be useless to say more.

_Successful Experiment with Guano as a Top Dressing on Wheat, in North Carolina._--On page 17, we gave some account of the application of guano by Henry K. Burgwyn, Esq., since which, we have been favored with the following letter from his brother, T. Pollock Burgwyn, written, as will be seen, not for publication, but simply to give the party from whom he purchased the guano, a detail of his success.

"_New York, Sept._ 20, 1852.

MESSRS. A. B. ALLEN &. Co.--Dear Sir:--Having promised that I would furnish you with the result of my application of the 21 tons of guano which I purchased of you last winter, I proceed now to do so, and give you full liberty to quote my experience in favor of the use of that most invaluable manure, to all who are anxious to profit by the experience of others without incurring any risk of their own. My object, and it should be that of every one who has used guano, is to extend the knowledge of its great value to any owner of poor soil, like the worn out plantations of North Carolina. I applied 20 tons of this guano as a top dressing to a field of 200 acres, which had been seeded in wheat under most unfavorable circ.u.mstances. At the time of application, so unpromising was the appearance of the growing wheat, that my manager and myself thought it almost a waste of money and labor to try this experiment,(1) but as the rest of my crop did not require any manure, I resolved to see what would be the effect. I am confident the field would not have averaged, without the top dressing, seven bushels per acre--it yielded rather over 13 bushels, besides securing to me a full setting of clover.(2)

My mode of application was as follows; to each 200 lbs of guano I added two bushels of ashes and a bushel of plaster mixed intimately, and then sown broadcast, at the rate of six and a half bushels per acre, harrowed in with a light harrow. This application was made in March, and the early part of April, and in less than three weeks after the application, the wheat had undergone an entire change, from a yellow, sickly color, to a dark luxuriant green. The application had evidently infused new life and vigor into the plants, and as the result proved, very nearly or quite doubled its product. So much for the crop of wheat; but what was still more valuable to me, in my system of farming, it likewise secured for me a full crop of clover, which would certainly have failed but for this application. I also applied one ton of this guano mixed in the same way, to a small field of oats. I plowed this under with a small plow, together with the oats; the result was equally gratifying. My chief object in this last experiment, was to secure me a small field of clover, near my stables, and in this I fully succeeded; which I feel a.s.sured I should not have done but for the guano. My brother and myself have made various experiments of late years, with guano, and concur in the testimony of all those who have tested its value, carefully and judiciously, in p.r.o.nouncing it to be the most expeditious renovater of the soil within the farmer's reach; and exclusive of the farm yard, the most economical of all manures. In proof of my conviction of its value to me, I shall this fall give you an order for 20 or 30 tons more.

I will only add that I consider every wheat grower who would study his own interest, will find it by trying similar experiments.

T. POLLOCK BURGWYN."

NOTE 1. In a subsequent conversation with Mr. Burgwyn, he stated a fact which makes this point much stronger. After ordering the guano, he left home, giving his farm manager orders to apply if to that particular piece of wheat as soon as it arrived. Owing to the fact that the seed was injured--that the land was in a very unfit condition from poverty and drouth to produce a crop of wheat, it had a.s.sumed such a miserable appearance before the arrival of the guano, that the manager wrote to Mr. B. his opinion of the utter folly of applying anything so expensive to a crop already struck with death. Not imagining how very unpromising was the prospect of success, Mr. B. immediately wrote to him to go ahead as directed. Before the application was completed he returned home, and his first impression was to stop the work at once and give up the field as lost; but on examining the effect upon that part where the guano was first applied, he found it had already infused new vigor into the plants, for they had put off their sickly yellow color, and taken on a vigorous green; and therefore he decided at once to go on, which as will be seen by the result, was a most valuable decision.

NOTE 2. From personal knowledge of this very field, we are confident it would not have yielded without the guano, one half of seven bushels. It is a flat surface, clayey loam, and badly affected by winter rains, and such freezing and thawing as it had during the last severe winter. Besides it was a few years since, when it came into the possession of Mr. Burgwyn, one of those old worn out, skinned-to-death places, so common in that State, which all the deep plowing and good farming of that gentleman had not been able to restore, until he luckily hit upon guano; which notwithstanding the most unfavorable circ.u.mstances, has given him conclusive proof of its inestimable value.

To say nothing of the ten bushels of wheat per acre, which we are confident he gained, the clover is worth more than the guano cost; and without it, one might almost as soon expect to grow clover upon Coney Island beach, as upon that field.

This letter contains testimony of inestimable value. It comes from a gentleman of intelligence and careful observation, who is devoted to his profession of a farmer, and who has been one of the most successful renovators of worn out plantations in the south, and it comes very opportunely to give our work an appropriate FINALE.