98 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



each kind having some qualities peculiar to itself, but all containing 

 the most essential requisites for a good manure. The peat which 

 has long been used for fuel, is that tough, spongy and fibrous com- 

 pound in low lands or bogs, which bends Under the feet and re- 

 tains its shape when dug or cut. It abounds in the countrj', and 

 here in Massachusetts, of late, machinerj' has been introduced and is 

 now operating to remove, grind and manufacture it into fuel, en- 

 tirely regardless of other uses. The ashes of this kind of peat, as 

 well as that from marshes near the sea, have for more than a cen- 

 tury been sought as fertilizers. In Holland and elsewhere, peat 

 has often been burnt merely for its ashes, which were sold b}^ the 

 bushel for manure ; the farmer losing thereby all the volatile portions 

 best adapted to his plants. Nevertheless, as more or less of cal- 

 careous matter was contained in the ashes, the}' were good for 

 sandy soils, and the waste was not total. If skilfully mixed with 

 animal manure and properly decomposed, this variety is deemed 

 the most valuable. 



The brown or black muck, which is more common with us, differs 

 from the fuel peat, in being softer and more decomposed. It con- 

 sists mostly of decayed and decaying vegetable matter, with some 

 earthy and mineral admixture, and is nearly in the state of vege- 

 table mould, or " /mmrts," sometimes called " f/eme." The value 

 of this muck depends very much on its position. If it has been 

 continuall}' subject to drainage and leaching, much of its virtue may 

 have run off and little remain. But if it has been confined within 

 a flat basin, without any outlet or overflow, and not too much 

 flooded, it will retain its tannin, nitrogen, and fertilizing salts, 

 which may be converted into the best of plant food. 



All peat is a concentrated vegetable carbonaceous compound. 

 The average muck of Massachusetts contains, as found by anal^-sis, 

 twenty-nine parts of soluble matter and about fifty-five parts of in- 

 soluble ; about one-third its substance being soluble. It is capable 

 of holding much moisture, and, when dried in the sun, still contains 

 about two-thirds of its weight of water. It has organic matter, and 

 often acids, in excess ; although its principal ingredient is carbon. 

 Oxj'gen and highl}' nitrogenized crenic and apocrenic acid, are 

 always present, with traces of ammonia. But in its fresh state, it 

 is almost inert. To utilize it, therefore, animal manures or salts 

 should be employed to quicken its action. Air and water are to do 

 the most of the productive work ; and they are so essential in 



