ver a circle about a foot in diameter; the
second man follows with a pronged hoe, or better yet, a six-tined fork,
with which he works the guano well into the soil, first turning it three
or four inches under the surface, and then stirring the soil _very
thoroughly_ with the hoe or fork. Unless the guano (and this is also
true of most fertilizers) is faithfully mixed up with the soil, the seed
will not vegetate. Give the second man about an hour the start, and then
let the third man follow with the seed. Of other fertilizers, I use
about half as much again as of guano to each hill, and of hen manure a
heaping handful, after it has been finely broken up, and, if moist,
slightly mixed with dry earth. When salt is used, it should not be
depended on exclusively, but be used in connection with other manures,
at the rate of from ten to fifteen bushels to the acre, applied
broadcast over the ground, or thoroughly mixed with the manure before
that is applied; if dissolved in the manure, better yet. Salt itself is
not a manure. Its principal office is to change other materials into
plant food. Fish and glue waste are exceedingly powerful manures, very
rich in ammonia, and, if used the first season, they should be in
compost. It is best to handle fish waste, such as heads, entrails,
backbones, and liver waste, precisely like night soil. "Porgy cheese,"
or "chum," the refuse, after pressing out the oil from menhaden and
halibut heads, and sometimes sold extensively for manure, is best
prepared for use by composting it with muck or loam, layer with layer,
at the rate of a barrel to every foot and a half, cord measure, of soil.
As soon as it shows some heat, turn it, and repeat the process, two or
three times, until it is well decomposed, when apply. Another excellent
way to use fish waste is to compost it with barn manure, in the open
fields. It will be best to have six inches of soil under the heap, and
not layer the fish with the lower half of the manure, for it strikes
down. Glue waste is a very coarse, lumpy manure, and requires a great
deal of severe manipulation, if it is to be applied the first season. A
better way is to compost it with soil, layer with layer, having each
layer about a foot in thickness, and so allow it to remain over until
the next season, before using. This will decompose most of the straw,
and break down the hard, tough lumps. In applying this to the crop, most
of it had better be used broadcast, as it is a