PEAT AS AN ABSORBENT AND AS A FERTILIZER. 107 



rains would not injure a compost heap, but it should be guarded 

 from excess of rain. The roof over it should not be tight, but may 

 be of loose boards, as the compost will not ferment without some 

 moisture. 



Mr. Ross said that the muck which he used was not taken from 

 the place referred to by Mr. Fuller as having a stream running 

 through it, but from another deposit not liable to that objection. 

 The quality of the latter was such that m anufacturers of poudrette 

 chose it in preference to any other. While his compost heap is de- 

 composing he throws brush over it to keep off the sun. He was 

 still of the opinion that the best use of muck is as a retainer of 

 moisture, and" as an absorbent of ammonia and other fertihzing 

 gases, but he had learned a good deal from what had been said 

 today. In answer to an inquiry Mr. Ross said that the grass roots 

 extend down to the layer of muck which he places under the top 

 soil, but do not enter it. 



Mr. Smith thought that if muck is of httle or no use, as is the 

 opinion of some, many people in Cambridge are much benighted. 



Mrs. C. N. S. Horner said that while the value of peat as a fuel 

 and as a fertilizer had been mentioned, one important use had been 

 omitted, viz. : as a deodorizer. As an absorbent around sink 

 drains, etc., it produced a wonderful efiect in deodorizing them. 



M. H. Merriam said that his first experiment in the use of peat 

 was by digging it and exposing it to the frosts of a single winter, 

 which rendered it light and friable. Once a week he carted into 

 the barnyard three times the amount of the droppings. Early in 

 spring it was carted out and apphed to fodder corn and potatoes. 

 The growth of both, early in the season, was remarkable, and the 

 corn being cut early needed nothing more, but the potatoes suffered 

 more from drought than those where other manure was used. Per- 

 haps the muck was not sufficiently decomposed. In another ex- 

 periment sods and similar materials were laid on brush, so as to 

 form a free drainage, and muck placed on top. Liquid manure 

 was then poured over the whole, and produced a very rapid fermen- 

 tation, decomposing even potato stalks. His most successful ex- 

 periment with muck was in composting it with the refuse of animal 

 skins boiled down to a glue. When this was incorporated with the 

 muck, fermentation soon commenced and produced a fertihzer which 

 he had never seen equalled in its effect on grass fields. The place 

 where it was applied could be distinguished all through the season, 



