PEAT AS AN ABSORBENT AND AS A FERTILIZER. 105 



This heats and decomposes very rapidly, and is excellent for com- 

 posting with muck. Success depends very much on the amount of 

 fermentation which can be produced in the heap. He preferred to 

 dig the muck two or three years before using, as the winter frosts 

 decompose it faster than any other agency, and the rains assist. 

 He digs out a large quantit}^ in August, and removes it to the site 

 of the compost heap in winter when the meadow is frozen so that 

 it will bear teams. He thought that a mixture of two-thirds muck 

 and one-third kelp, was as good as entire sea manure. Horse ma 

 nure, or anj'thing that will produce fermentation, is good for mixing 

 with the muck. Fish pomace is admirable. He did not think it 

 needful to cover the compost heap from the rain. His brother 

 hired the Pickman farm in Salem (a milk farm with a large stock 

 of cattle), when it yielded seventy-five tons of hay. By the use 

 of muck, composted as described, in addition to the dung of the 

 cattle, in three years he brought the produce of the farm up to two 

 hundred and twenty-five tons. 



The speaker had used muck all his life, and felt much interest in 

 the subject of the essay. He formed his compost heaps very much 

 as described by the essayist. The heap should be forked over fre- 

 quentl}^, as every stirring produces a new fermentation. A mixture 

 of lime and salt may be used in the compost heap and add to its 

 fertilizing qualities. While some muck has very little value, that 

 which is valuable is inert until decomposed. Green hide is not 

 leather, but becomes leather when tannin is chemically united with 

 it. So meadow muck in a cold, ii^rt condition is not manure — 

 not a fertilizer — but let it be fermented and it becomes one of the 

 most valuable fertilizers. 



The Chairman regretted that some of the vegetable growers, 

 who were present at the opening of the meeting had left, as he 

 would have liked to hear their views. He believed that generally 

 they prefer unadulterated fertilizers, like the strongest stable ma- 

 niu'e, to muck compost. He agreed with Mr. Ware that there is 

 very little value in meadow mud just taken out. This was shown in 

 an old orchard which the speaker had latel}' removed, where a quantity 

 of meadow mud was placed under each tree. It had remained un- 

 changed for forty j^ears, and the roots avoided it as if it were 

 poison. It should lie two or three years after being dug and be 

 subjected to fermentation. The general experience of cultivators 

 14 



