94 



ANALYSES OF MUCK. 



SAMPLE. 



No. I. From Baldwin county, Alabama. . 

 No. 2. From Escambia county, Alabama. 



O 



Oh 



0.04 

 0.31 



MARLS. 



Tlirouo-hout a very considerable area of the State, partic- 

 ularly in the cretaceous formations, marls are found in com- 

 parative abundance and many samples of high quality have 

 been analyzed in this laboratory. 



Marls, properly speaking, consist of carbonate of lime 

 admixed with varying quantities of sand, clay or loam. 



The carbonate of lime is ordinarily the chief constituent 

 of value in marls, though small proportions of phosphoric 

 acid and potash accompany the lime in many cases. 



The carbonate of lime contained performs the functions 

 of a stimulant manure, decomposing and rendering availa- 

 ble some of the ordinarily inaccessible mineral forms of pot- 

 ash present in the soil, and also promoting the formation 

 of humus and the nitrification of the otherwise inactive 

 nitrogen of the soil. The chief difficulty in the way of the 

 more extensive utilization of marls lies in the fact that they 

 will not admit of transportation to any considerable dis- 

 tance, and the soils in the immediate vicinity of the marl 

 deposits are in most cases quite well supplied with lime. 



Light and sandy soils, however, will in most instances be 

 benefited by the application of good quantities of well pul- 

 verized marl and such soils are sometimes found within 

 easy reach of marl deposits. 



"Green sand marls," or glauconitic marls, have been found 

 in a number of localities in this State in sufficient quantities 

 to prove of value for local use. They contain potash (in 

 the form of the mineral "glauconite," in quite considerable 

 'proportions, and somewhat smaller quantities of phosphoric 

 acid. Materials of this class act quite slowly when em- 

 ployed for fertilizing purposes, but as this action extends 



