349 
number of horses. For e years a considerable “phopoetitl of 
the manure thus obinniad: tes been made with peat-moss litter, 
imported we believe from Denmark, and composed chiefly of com- 
pressed dead moss and bog peat, as it has been formed in marshes, 
It is neither peat nor moss as these are understood in horti- 
culture and is entirely unsuited for the growth of plants. It is 
imported in the form of bales which are broken up in the stables to 
be spread as bedding in the stalls. Whenit becomes saturated with 
urine and contains a considerable proportion of horse droppings it. 
is thrown into a heap to be carted away. Compared with straw- 
made manure this eeriitee maaure is cheap, but it is not looked 
upon with favour by market gardeners. Its use at Kew has been 
mainly as a top dressing for lawns and borders, but only after it has 
been exposed to the air for about six months and turned several 
times. It has not been used for mixing with the soil, but this 
spring some of the flower beds were in error manured with it. Its 
effect on the health and growth of the plants which were afterwards 
put into these beds for the summer was markedly deleterious. The 
weakened and died, and as this was evidently due to the manure in 
the soil in which the ae were set, samples of the soil and manure 
were submitted to Dr. J. A. Voelcker for analysis and report, and we 
are indebted to him for the dake analysis and observations. 
Dr. Voelcker writes as follow 
“T have now completed my scabs of the sample of Soil 
and that of Peat-Moss Manure which you sent me some time back. 
“ The analysis of the Peat-Moss Manure is as follows :— 
Moisture : 39°59 
ieee matter and ‘salts of ; ammo ao: -SORZ 
of iron and Sat, with te “of phos- 
Pobre id é ie eae wwe hos ck 
Lime.. ioe oe ai a “90 
Alkalies, magnesia, be. ie eds <i “is 4°81 
Insoluble siliceous matter ... ae _ Ws 6°34 
100°00 
*Containing nitrogen... ho — ft we eee 
Equal to ammonia ... an ce Pa is 
* The manure further sist tafited : 
Matters vat ble in water— 
Nitric one oc ie “is OO 
Sulphate acid ave iv bes i ae 
Chlorin “09 
*“ The manure was distinetly aad: in ae sd showed 
Acidity—reckoned as acetic acid +»  ‘°88 per cent. 
“ Of the soil a water extract was made, and this gave :— 
Total matters soluble in water ... «e098 per cent. 
21218 c 
