A few CVRR pictures and some other related pictures....

[MurphOnMillerAve]

At the Fireman's Convention in Zelienople, Pa in 1914............Look at that brick paved road!

Not to mention the horse droppings all over the nice brick paving.

Horse manure is the best of all of them for use in fields. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that whoever's job it was to collect all those droppings gave it to farmers or to gardeners for use as fertilizer.

(Cow manure is second best; chicken is the worst since it is too hot to be assimilated quickly into being part of the soil without burning any seedlings coming up. Dog and cat waste is far too hot since they eat basically what humans eat and that is totally unusable.)

(Betcha didn't think I knew stuff like that huh. Check it out. Go ask a farmer. You'll see I'm right. ) oohhhhhyeeeaaaaah.

P.S. Now, THAT's drift!!!!!!!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

At the Fireman's Convention in Zelienople, Pa in 1914............Look at that brick paved road!

Not to mention the horse droppings all over the nice brick paving.

Horse manure is the best of all of them for use in fields. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that whoever's job it was to collect all those droppings gave it to farmers or to gardeners for use as fertilizer.

Thought that distinction went to elephant; used to be that folks queued up when the circus used to come to town

[robert.]

Bat droppings(guano) by far is the best.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Bat droppings(guano) by far is the best.

Used to be best for saltpeter and the Guano Islands Act is still in place!

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Not to mention the horse droppings all over the nice brick paving.

Horse manure is the best of all of them for use in fields. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that whoever's job it was to collect all those droppings gave it to farmers or to gardeners for use as fertilizer.

Thought that distinction went to elephant; used to be that folks queued up when the circus used to come to town

Quite beyond the pale.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Bat droppings(guano) by far is the best.

Never heard of that one. Easily available to the average farmer and gardener?

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Bat droppings(guano) by far is the best.

Used to be best for saltpeter and the Guano Islands Act is still in place!

Huh? What?

[robert.]

"From caves. A major natural source of potassium nitrate was the deposits crystallizing from cave walls and the accumulations of bat guano in caves. Extraction is accomplished by immersing the guano in water for a day, filtering, and harvesting the crystals in the filtered water"

[Roy]

I know they used to use sailing ships to transport guano, but I think that was from seabirds.

[healey36]

Anybody ever see one of these markers along the Lincoln Highway (Route 30)?:



I seem to recall seeing them long ago but haven't seen one in years. I wonder if they got taken down because they were hazards, or stolen.

Healey

[rogruth]

I remember the markers but not with the Lincoln head.

[Roy]

I know Lt. Col. Eisenhower drove the route in 1919. Only took about 3 1/2 weeks, coast-to-coast.

[MurphOnMillerAve]

"From caves. A major natural source of potassium nitrate was the deposits crystallizing from cave walls and the accumulations of bat guano in caves. Extraction is accomplished by immersing the guano in water for a day, filtering, and harvesting the crystals in the filtered water"

I have no doubt there are sources for the guano, but can you imagine how many little batbutts and how long the accumulation period it would take to fertilize a typical American farmer's field (!) However, horses and cows are ever at the ready-willing-and-able to contribute significantly to fertilizing efforts.

I had an occasion, purely by happenstance, to be at a farmers' market, on NY State Rt. 281, getting into my car, just as a contraption was maneuvering in a large broad field across the highway from me. As was quickly apparent, the wagon-machine-thing was taking scoops-full of manure, seemingly shredding it, and simultaneously hurling it as a spray up into the air over the field, section by section. The contraption-load didn't seem to have needed immersion in water, but rather, was quite ready to go. I had not experienced the procedure previously during my numerous visits to Homer, NY. But I knew I would remember it. The odor is still in my memory.

Probably not guano in that farmer's contraption (not that I am an expert in detecting the presence of guano.)

[Roy]

Guano 101: http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/what-load-guano-5-facts-you-didnt-know-about-bird-poop

[rogruth]

Murph,
That machine is called a manure spreader and is suitable for several types.
I don't know if it works with bat guano.
Do you remember a movie with a character named Col. "Bat" Guano?