26 CRANBERRY CULTURE. 



pulverized or granulated, is alluvium^ separated from the 

 drift by the waves and currents of the ocean, and eleva- 

 ted by the action of the waters. The deltas, or rich in- 

 terval lands near the outlets of rivers, are alluvium, and 

 are formed by the subsiding of the finer particles brought 

 down by the streams. 



The mud found in the narrow bogs and creeks near the 

 sea shore, and the muck, or peat, underlying swamps and 

 fen-lands, are of the same character. 



Salt an<l fresh meadows, formed partly by deposits of 

 mtid, ami partly by decayed vegetable and animal mat- 

 ter, belong to the same class. In fact, all alluvial forma- 

 tions are caused by the action of water. 



There are several varieties of muck, or peat, all of 

 which have a fertilizing effect upon the cranberry vine. 

 Muck is composed almost entirely of decayed vegetable 

 matter, but deposits are found in different stages of de- 

 composition ; those most thoroughly decomposed being 

 best adapted to our purpose. Professor Sidney K. Smith, 

 of N. J., has analyzed a sample of muck, with the follow- 

 ing results : 



" The muck is spread on a plate, and placed over a ves- 

 sel of boiling water — this affords a means of maintaining 

 an equal temperature at 212° F. In this position it will 

 lose 50 per cent (' IJ its weight of water. If you will weigh 

 100 parts of the sample thus dried, and burn it, and then 

 weigh, you will have from 6 to 30 parts of ashes; so that 

 from 70 to 94 per cent is organic matter, which took the 

 gaseous or aeriform state as soon as heat enough was ap- 

 plied. 



" But this difference in weight of ash comes chiefly 

 from the larger per cent of sand, or silicates, in some varie- 

 ties than in others ; asi<le from this, since the amount of 

 the salts of potash, soda, lime, etc., is small, compared with 

 the whole weight of the muck, it need not be reckoned. 



" It is, then^ the volatile or organic part that contnins 



