MUCK AND PEAT. 5 



SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE. 



The surface features of both peat and muck deposits are almost 

 universally those of a level plain. In general the deposits have been 

 formed within the areas of small lakes or ponds or along the courses 

 of sluggish streams. Consequently there may be wide differences in 

 absolute elevation of different deposits, but each separate occurrence 

 will possess a nearly level and very uniform surface. Those deposits 

 which border streams to any great extent may possess a slight surface 

 slope down the course of the stream. The deposits are also thicker 

 in some portions than in others, and when they become partially 

 drained, as the result of either natural or artificial causes, irregulari- 

 ties in shrinkage may give rise to slight differences in elevation. 

 This is particularly the case with shallow deposits, which may assume 

 something of the surface configuration of the underlying subsoil when 

 the Muck or Peat shrinks in drying. 



Areas of Muck and Peat occur nearly or quite at sea level in the 

 Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains and also in the lower courses of some 

 of the flood plains of the rivers tributary to the Gulf of Mexico. 

 Other areas are to be found within the small ponds and partially 

 filled lakes of the glaciated region at altitudes of 1,200 to 1,500 feet 

 above tide. There could be no general statement as to range of 

 altitude, since the conditions which give rise to such accumulations 

 are widespread within all of the cooler and more humid portions of 

 the country. 



It is a characteristic of all such deposits, however, that they are 

 found in depressed areas, where the natural drainage is deficient and 

 decaying vegetation may become partially preserved through its 

 submergence in water. Thus Muck and Peat are always naturally 

 swampy. 



LIMITATIONS IN USE. 



Lack of adequate drainage in their natural condition limits the 

 uses to which peat and muck soils may be devoted. It is only after 

 the installation of drainage systems that either class of material may 

 be brought under cultivation. Even then there is considerable varia- 

 tion in the agricultural adaptation and cropping value of different 

 areas, frequently within the same deposit. 



It has been the usual experience that areas of Muck are more easily 

 reclaimed than areas of Peat. This arises chiefly from the fact that 

 the more advanced stage of decomposition of the Muck, coupled with 

 the universal presence of an appreciable amount of mineral matter, 

 renders it more compact, better fitted to hold the growing crop in an 

 upright position, and to furnish a regular and adequate supply of 

 moisture throughout the growing season. The fibrous Peat is usually 



