REPORT OF THE CHEMIST. 171 



present this soil is unsuitable for certain crops, but if this could be remedied by a judi- 

 cious admixture with the subsoil or surface dressings, a very good soil would result. 



With good drainage and the addition of mineral fertilizers, nitrification would pro- 

 ceed satisfactorily and there would be no necessity to apply nitrogenous fertilizers. 

 Wood ashes would be of especial value, as supplying potash and notable quantities of 

 lime and phosphoric acid. If potash is applied as kainit or muriate of potash, it will be 

 necessary to add lime, as such or as marl or gypsum, and to furnish phosphoric acid as 

 superphosphate or, better still for such soils, as basic slag. 



No. 2. From an area of 2,500 acres covered by swamp muck in section 7, township 

 Alberni. The depth of muck in the centre of the swamp, it is stated, exceeds ten feet ; 

 at the edges, the subsoil of clay outcrops. It is practically aU vegetable matter. 



No. 3. From a swamp in section 8, Alberni township. " In times of high water 

 it is frequently covered." 



As regards nitrogen. No. 2 is much the better of the two, but both may be classed 

 as excellent. They are, however, distinctly sour, pointing to the necessity of drainage 

 and the application of an alkaline mineral fertilizer, such as wood ashes, lime, &c., before 

 they could be used profitably as soils. 



No. 4. Contains too much undecayed wood to be of any immediate value, but 

 perhaps could be used, after being air-dried, to advantage as an absorbent for liquid 

 manure and in the manure pile. It contains a considerable amount of nitrogen. 



No. 5. As a muck to be used as a fertilizer, it may be considered of good quality, 

 but as a soil it would need the admixture of clay and sand and the application of 

 mineral fertilizers. 



No. 6. This sample, owing to its large amount of clay and sand and comparatively 

 small proportion of nitrogen, could nob be recommended for absorbent purposes ; nor 

 would it pay to compost it, unless it could be handled very cheaply. 



Nos. 7 and 8. These samples are from the surface and bottom of a swamp, respectively. 

 No. 7 is loose and consists, for the greater part, of root fibres. It could be used as a 

 coarse bedding and for composting. No. 8 is, when freshly dug, of a sticky nature, but 

 dries to a hard, brittle mass. It would require to be subjected to the disintegration 

 action of the winter's frost before becoming of any value. 



No. 9. This sample is from a Cedar swamp. It contains a considerable quantity of 

 undecomposed woody fibre. It requires weathering and composting with wood ashes or 

 lime. It would probably make a fair absorbent in the barn-yard. 



MARSH, CREEK AND TIDAL DEPOSITS. 



These are generally known in the maritime provinces as " muds." Brief reports of 

 those samples examined in the farm laboratories during the past year are given, but it 

 has not been thought necessary to consider in detail their origin, composition, and their 

 effect on soils, since such a consideration has already appeared in the reports of this 

 Division. 



The most important of the samples analysed are from large unreclaimed marshes in 

 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Time has not permitted complete analyses of these, 

 though such would have been desirable. A further question to be taken up in connec- 

 tion with marsh muds is the determination of the relative availability of their elements 

 of plant food. We hope to be able to undertake this investigation during the coming 

 year. 



Other samples, the details of which are now given, were forwarded from the pro- 

 vinces of British Columbia, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. 



