302 



It may be advisable to raise the marl in the fall, and subject it to the 

 a,ction of the winter's frost, in order to bring it to a pulverized state pre- 

 vious to use upon the land. ■• 



PEAT. 



This combustible is found in very great abundance in most of the 

 marshes. It is that which supports the luxuriant crop of grasses they 

 afford, and is itself a mass of grass roots and half decomposed vegeta- 

 tion. This variety of peat is caWedJlbrotis. It is so universally dis- 

 tributed, and in such quantity, that my notice of it will be in general 

 terms. 



Most of the beds of peat, in this State, are comparatively shallow, 

 seldom exceeding four feet in thickness, and they in general want that 

 compactness which is esteemed a i-equisite in the peats adapted for 

 fuel. I shall, therefore, allude only to its value and application as a 

 manure. 



Few soils will endure many years continued cultivation, without re- 

 quiring to be replenished, not altogether with mineral manures, such as 

 gypsum and marls, but with those vegetable or animal products which 

 afford the real sustenance to its crops. The time will just as surely 

 come when the soils of our own State, though now fresh and unex- 

 hausted, will need the same support. The farmer will then rejoice at 

 the opportunity to procure manures of this description ; and I do not hes- 

 itate to say that peat will then rank among the most prominent, as it is 

 now the most abundant. 



Peat being almost wholly a mass of vegetable matter, affords pre- 

 cisely that which is yielded by the most fertilizing manures. But as 

 found, it is in a more or less undecomposed state, and consequently not 

 in that condition in which alone plants can receive it, to be absorbed 

 into their substance. Should it be spread, as manure is often applied, 

 its dry, spongy fibres, will not readily become converted into that solu- 

 ble matter which is required by the conditions of vegetable organiza- 

 tion. To exact its full benefit, then, some art seems necessary. In the 

 absence of actual experiment, such as would most properly determine 

 the mode of its application, I shall only suggest the simplest means. 

 The compost-heap affords the readiest process for eftecting those chem- 

 ical changes which are necessary to convert peat into nutriment for veg- 

 etation. This will be facilitated by an intimate mixture of animal and 



