Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1869-04-22
Agrifnltnral department.
From the Planter and Farmer.



CORN FERTILIZERS.
Col. F. G. RUFF1N-Dear SIR: Yours
of the - inst, is to hand asking me to give
my experience in the application of Fer
|tiizers upon corn, which proceed to do.
In the year 1852, the commencement OF
my experiments with Peruvian Guano,
upon corn, applied it broadcast before
breaking the land, $50 Tbs. upon two acres,
200 lbs, broadcast, upon two other acres
adjoining, and ploughed both under with q
two horse plough b. I then applied 100 TBS.
to the acre in the drill, sfter breaking the
the land, and before planting the corn upon
two more acres along side the others upon
these six acres the ground paid fair profit,
less upon the two last than either of the
others but upon all six acres I noticed too
much stalk with considerable firing. In
June of the same year applied immedi-
ately upon the corn row, after turning the
dirt from the corn, 1875 Tbs. to the acre up
on ten acres, just spreading the guano
about IL or Is inches on the corn and COW
ering with the plough and hoes, for the
corn was so small that the plough could not
turn the dirt to it without covering it up,
this ten acres of land was worn-out corn
Ter, that would not have produced S bushels
of corn per acre without the guano, and
upon this land I gathered more than thirty
bushels of shelled corn. I found from this
experiment, that the guano was taken up
|by the ear and not in the stalk, as in the
other experiments. I afterwards made
many experiments with guano, and always
found that the guano, applied just before
turning the dirt to the corn and sowed on
as narrow space as possible and just upon
the corn, paid much better than any other
application, one half the guano producing
as good crop as double the amount, ap-
piled before planting the corn. [ have
made by actual measurement 25 bushels
shelled corn more than the same land pro.
duced the same year, by applying 100 Tbs.
Peruvian Guano as mentioned above. AS
to my experiments with manipulated gu
anoes and manufactured manures, which
have been many in the last Is years, I have
only to say, the money expended was all
lost, except when ground bone or bone ash
and Peruvian Guano we're the only ingre.
dients> have also used, before the war,
ground bone, and was satisfied, in order to
make it pay well, there should be used from
400 to 900 lbs. to the acre. Since the wal
I have used small quantities Of Peruvian
Guano upon corn and wheat, tomatoes and
cabbages, and while T believed was pay.
ing for 20 or 80 lbs. of water in every bag,
I found it far the cheapest article [ pur-
chased, and by using small quantity more
to- the acre, the products of corn, tomatoes
and cabbages were equal to any I ever
raised from its use, and upon wheat made
but a poor crop, although the growth Of
straw was fine. I used stable manures by
the side of it, on land of the same quality,
upon which put 100 lbs. Guano, and the
manures made no more wheat than the Gu.
ano, so it was no fault of Guano.
will here remark that from my expert.
ence in the use of Peruvian Guano for the
last % years, I consider it the best and
cheapest fertilizer that can be purchased,
and when used upon lined land, several
months after the lime had been applied, the
land improves rapidly and even when
neither of these articles have been used, il
the Guano is applied at the rate of 200 to
800 lbs. and always ploughed in the ground
with single plows, the land improves as
fast as from the use of domestic manures,
and really costs less money, as the labor Of
making and hauling and spreading home
made manures costs as much or more than
the Guano.
From reports from others and from OBJ
servation, I feel sure that Guano does not
produce the same effect upon the stiff river
lands as upon the lighter forest lands in
Eastern Va, and now I close by advising
our farmers to look we'll to what they buy
in the market for fertilizers, for l have
used many kinds, now largely sold without
the slightest benefit. Yours &c.
Norfolk Feb. IL, $50.