CHAPTER XXXII. 



MUCK. 



are many acres of muck swamp in this 

 vicinity. At the north end our farm runs down 

 into a swamp of some 200 acres. This is rotten 

 vegetable matter as far down as I have ever dug. 

 It is surface-drained by open ditches. I went to 

 considerable expense to drain my few acres some 

 two feet deep, so as to have a place to get muck for composting 

 and using as a fertilizer. From what I had read I thought it 

 would be valuable to use on my upland. I suppose we got out 

 the muck in about the best way, and I will briefly describe our 

 plan of operations. Beginning at the back end, so as to make the 

 hole where it would be out of the way, we threw up in the fall a 

 strip of muck eight feet wide and three feet deep, throwing it, of 

 course, to the south (see plan of farm). It made a large pile. 

 The last foot was taken from under water, or below water level, 

 but by leaving a little muck around the outside, taking a rod or 

 so at a time, we managed to throw most of it out. The little 

 strip left served as a dam to hold water back. We would find 

 logs of considerable size down in this muck, where they had been 

 for ages, under water nearly always. They would seem sound to 

 look at, but generally would slice right up with the spade. This 

 bank of muck was left to freeze and drain during the winter, and 

 then for the action of the sun during the summer, and then it was 

 ready to draw away and use, after which we threw up another 

 lot. 



We drew some directly onto our land, and spread it, but, 

 usually, composted it first. When composting, we drew the 

 muck in the fall up near the barn, and spread a layer, say, four 

 inches thick on the ground, making it about twelve feet wide, and 

 as long a pile as we wished. Then, driving on each side, spread- 

 ing half each way, we put on a thin coating of ashes. Perhaps 

 slacked lime would have been better. But, for potato growing, 

 we thought the potash in the ashes would be valuable. There is 

 very little in the muck. The ashes were collected at saw mills in 

 the vicinity. Next, another layer of muck was spread on from 

 each side, and then more ashes, and so on until the pile was four 

 feet, or more, high. It was then out where we could get it to 

 compost with manure in the spring. We could not get into the 

 swamp to draw it out in the spring often . This pile of muck and 

 ashes was then composted with the manure, load for load, except 



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