its growth. But all plants require a certain amount of moisture, in order to enable them to arrive at their perfect development. Some soils have the ability to retain moisture enough to supply this want, and some retain an excess, even in times of drought. There is a constant evaporation or exhalation from the surface in dry weather, and when the surface becomes dry this exhalation arises from the lower strata, ascending through those above, and so passing off from the surface; and there can be no doubt that this upward movement of moisture from the subsoil is of great service in the vegetable economy, and affords another strong reason for a frequent stirring of the surface in dry weather, since this process greatly promotes the upward tendency of the moisture of the lower strata.

It must be evident from what has been said that draining is not so necessary here as in England, or in any country with a moist climate. This remark is general, however, and does not apply to our low, swampy lands, over which the fogs are often seen to linger, and on which the water is allowed to stand and stagnate, but only to such as dry early in spring, so as to admit of being worked over soon after the snow disappears.

This brief notice of the climate in which we live may serve to excite our interest in the subject, and a desire to pursue it further; and when it is considered that upon its climate depend both the animal and vegetable productions of a country, and that upon these depends the population of that country, the importance of agricultural meteorology, as a branch of the farmer's knowledge, will be apparent to all.

Some account has already been given of the results of experiments with guano; but the great difference of opinion among farmers upon this subject, and the great importance of arriving at correct conclusions in relation to it, seem to make a somewhat more extended discussion of the qualities of this manure not inappropriate in this connection.

The history of guano is already well known, and I need not dwell upon it. It is found in immense quantities, the accumulations of centuries, often two hundred feet in depth. Its virtues are condensed into the smallest bulk. The best guano comes from islands where it never rains; but the very heavy

dews which fall there moisten the surface of the deposits, and the hot suns harden this damp surface into a crust, which entirely prevents the escape of the fertilizing gases, thus preserving all the valuable qualities of the article as a manure. If the guano were washed by the rains, and were exposed to the constant evaporation which would follow without such a crust for its protection, it would scarcely pay the expenses of transpor

tation.

The past year has been extremely unfavorable for all experiments with concentrated manures, tried merely as experiments, and its experience can hardly be considered a fair test of the merits of any manure, and especially of a manure which, from its volatile nature, requires to be immediately dissolved by moisture and distributed through the soil. It is desirable, however, to know the risks which must be incurred, as well as the profits which may be gained, in every operation of the farm. If guano should be found to produce comparatively little or no good effect in dry seasons, this consideration should have some weight in our decision upon the expediency or inexpediency of its use. Many failures have been brought to my knowledge in various parts of the State; of these, some probably arose from the drought, others from want of knowledge or care in the application. In scasons like the past, this manure frequently does little good. There must be moisture enough after its application to dissolve it. Having occasion to top dress an acre of grass, seeded in September, 1853, I mixed 300 pounds of guano with common garden soil in the proportion of one to three, and sowed it upon the last light snow in April. The subsequent rains dissolved it and carried it into the soil, which was a very light, dry, gravelly loam, of no more than ordinary fertility, situated upon the sea shore. The acre produced more than two tons of superior hay. Without the guano, I do not think the produce would have been half as good. If it had been applied a week or two later, the effect would undoubtedly have been far less perceptible.

I do not think it safe, as a general rule, to put it in the hill and to plant corn or other crops upon it, or even to bury it, as many do, to the depth of a half inch or more with soil, and drop the seeds upon that. This method may succeed some

times, but there are some objections to it.. In the first place, the guano should be in the ground, it seems to me, before most crops are planted, that it may be so completely dissolved and incorporated with the soil as to produce its full effect. In the second place, the rootlets of plants in spring are exceedingly tender; and when they shoot down into the guano, as they will, in most cases, before it is so mixed with the soil as to have become harmless, they will inevitably be destroyed; and if the destruction of the whole plant does not follow, it will have but a sickly and feeble growth. No guano is worth fifty dollars a ton that will not produce this effect. In the third place, in cases of drought, guano in the hill, however perfectly it may have been prepared before its application, will ordinarily prove an injury rather than a benefit. It seems difficult also to see the advantage of this practice; for we need have no fear that the roots will not find the manure if it is mixed with the soil..

I do not wish to be understood to be opposed to the judicious use of guano. It is now pretty generally agreed that ammonia is the substance which stimulates most powerfully the growth of plants; and if the farmer has not enough of it in his home-made stable manure, guano is the cheapest form in which it can be bought. It not unfrequently happens that, after using all possible means at command, by way of the muck meadow, loam, leaves, and a thousand other things within the reach of most farmers, for increasing his supplies, he still fails to make as much as his land demands. It then becomes a question of importance with the farmer where and how to supply his wants the cheapest and with least labor. It is a question of dollars and cents, and the man who knows his own interest will study it out.

The farmer will sometimes prefer a cheap kind of guano to the best Peruvian, simply because the price is a little less. There can be no greater mistake. The properties of the best guano are well known, and we can predict what results will follow the application of a certain quantity per acre. With most other guanos there is no certainty as to the results, and the dif ference in price is seldom proportionate to the difference in quality. The risk in buying them is consequently much greater, and the farmer cannot ordinarily afford to sacrifice both the

price of the manure and the time and crops which he may lose by his mistake. The only safety is in getting the best warranted guano from dealers who can be relied on.

It often happens that the soil is of such a nature as to make some change in its physical texture desirable. It is too stiff, or too light. There are cases, doubtless, where a thorough dressing of stable manure would be more beneficial than guano or any concentrated manure. The farmer must decide all questions of this kind by the aid of a sound and enlightened judgment. In most cases it is not well to use one kind of manure on the same land many years in succession. Thus, on soils where a coarse manure is needed, it will often be found useful to mix guano with it, and an excellent compost may be made in this way. The guano, when so mixed and ploughed in, is very soon decomposed, and supplies the plant with food almost immediately; while the coarser manure, as its decomposition goes on more slowly, becomes available at a later stage of vegetable growth. This method of using guano, I think, should be adopted much oftener than it is.

There have been too few experiments to determine with certainty the effect of guano, when used for several successive years on the same soil. I give below extracts from the statements made by experienced practical men, which show not only the results obtained, but the manner of preparation and appli cation. A farmer of Worcester county says: "Where guano has been spread and ploughed in, the result is satisfactory; when applied to corn in the hill, in most cases unsatisfactory. Experiments with phosphate of lime have generally been satisfactory."

An experienced farmer in Middlesex county writes as follows: "The best results have been realized when it has been sown on grass lands in the spring as early as the month of March. Where it has been used for corn, some have succeeded well; others have not, for want of knowledge in using it."

Another successful cultivator says: "I have used it with plaster on oats sown broadcast for fodder, and ploughed in two or three inches deep, in the spring. It increased my crop of oats fifty per cent. It is worth the most for any crop when put un

der the ground two or three inches and well mixed with the earth."

The return made by a farmers' club of Middlesex county, in which the circular given above was taken up and carefully considered, contains the following reply on the subject of guano : “J. P. B. applied 300 pounds per acre; on the same land he applied 20 loads of compost manure, and had one-sixth more corn on the compost manure. J. H. got no pods on an eighth of an acre of pease. J. B. M. sold $20 worth of pease from one-sixteenth of an acre. He doubled his crop on guanoed land, but found no effect on grass land. On poor sandy soil E. W. B. found his corn, rye and grass improved; guano saved the corn. He got double the crop on grass land where guano was applied in the autumn; would always mix with charcoal, plaster or muck, 60 pounds to the cord of peat muck. E. W. found nearly a fourth more millet on seven-eighths of an acre, where 25 loads per acre were applied, than where 300 pounds of guano were applied. J. D. B. doubled his crop of potatoes by the use of 300 pounds of guano per acre, applied on low land in the hill.”

Another practical farmer of Middlesex county says: "Guano has been used by some few individuals to a limited extent. In several instances it has proved an unprofitable investment, on account of the want of knowledge how to use it, having placed the seed in too near proximity to the manure, which, being very powerful, destroyed the germ, or prevented its growth. Light or sandy lands seem to be most benefited by guano, or its effects are more perceptible on such ground than on land in a high state of cultivation. It has been said that the first crop obtained by using guano was the best, and that the third or fourth season there would be but a very meagre one; but I think that statement remains to be tested.

Different kinds of land require different kinds of manure, as is well known by most farmers. On cold, clayey soils, the horse or stable manures seem to produce the best return, and to leave the ground in a better state than some other kinds of manure; while on loamy, sandy, or gravelly soils, the barn manure, formed into compost, is considered by most farmers as best adapted to produce a crop. Much use is made of swamp