MUCK AND PEAT. 13 



Mention has been made of the planting of protecting hedges which 

 are used to break the force of spring winds and to prevent the bodily 

 removal of the surface soils and even the seed. The North Carolina 

 poplar is frequently used for such purposes, since it makes a rapid 

 growth. When the trees become fully grown, there is need for the 

 interplanting of lower-growing forms in order to thicken the hedge, 

 thus forming a complete windbreak. 



Sometimes special devices are used to prevent the horses from 

 sinking into the soft surface soil of the Muck or Peat. A bog shoe 

 of boards fitted with clamps, so that it may be temporarily attached 

 to the regular horseshoe, is generally employed for this purpose. The 

 bearing area of each foot is increased until there is little danger that 

 the work horses will become "bogged down" in the soft soil. 



Frequently cold frames or small greenhouses are established near 

 the muck beds for the forcing of the plants required for transplanting 

 upon the Muck or Peat. This usage is more common where extra- 

 early truck crops are produced than where onions or the later field 

 crops are grown. A later use of the cold frames is sometimes made 



for growing special crops under glass. 



\ 



SUMMARY. 



Deposits of Muck and Peat are of wide extent in all of the cooler, 

 more humid sections of the United States, and occur in some of the 

 more southern States where exceptional conditions of moisture and 

 abundant low-growing vegetation prevail. 



Peat consists of nearly pure, partially decayed remains of vegetable 

 tissue. Muck is formed by the mingling of such material with an 

 appreciable amount of extraneous mineral matter. It is also more 

 completely disintegrated than peat in the majority of areas occupied 

 for agricultural uses. 



Nearly 1,000,000 acres of Peat and Muck have been encountered 

 in the progress of soil surveys, and it is probable that deposits of 

 this character will ultimately be found to cover an area in excess of 

 15,000,000 acres in the eastern United States. 



Owing to the method of formation of these deposits, they are 

 almost universally poorly drained under natural conditions, and the 

 installation of proper drainage is the first step in their utilization for 

 crop production. Each area constitutes a separate drainage problem. 



While the Peat and Muck are primarily special-purpose soils, con- 

 siderable areas which have been reclaimed are used for .the growing of 

 general farm crops, such as corn, potatoes, oats, buckwheat, and 

 timothy hay. These uses are common in the more northern localities. 



The greatest values derived from the cultivation of Muck and Peat 

 have arisen from their use as special-crop soils. Cabbage, onions, 



