FERTILIZERS. 95 



waste, either by fermenting or washing from the heap, 

 is avoided as soon as the manure is scattered upon or 

 incorporated with the soil. By piling it in heaps, and 

 allowing it to ferment, it may be rendered more suitable 

 for the immediate wants of certain crops, but this is at 

 the expense of some of its value. When applied without 

 such fermentation, it may be slow to yield its elements the 

 first season, but these are preserved for future years. 



2. It should be rendered as fine as possible, and thor- 

 oughly mixed with the soil. Those parts which are sol- 

 uble at first may be washed out, and distributed evenly 

 enough for practical purposes, under any methods ; but 

 in order to secure the benefit of the mechanical effect 

 of mixing the solid parts with the soil, and the chemical 

 effect produced by these upon the soil in decomposition, 

 it should in some way be finely divided, and thoroughly 

 mixed with the soil, so as to bring its particles into con- 

 tact with as many particles of the soil as possible. 



Swamp Muck. Muck or peat beds are numerous in 

 low, wet places, throughout a large portion of the country. 

 Muck consists of partially decayed vegetable matter, which 

 has accumulated through past ages. It is of considerable 

 value as a fertilizer. It is especially rich in nitrogen, 

 samples often yielding from one to three per cent, of it. 



The fertilizing elements of muck, however, are in the 

 form of certain acids, or insoluble compounds, which are 

 not, in their natural state, available to plants. Before it 

 can be of much service it must be treated with some alka- 

 line substance, so that its acids may be neutralized and 

 its elements converted into available forms. 



This may be accomplished in three ways : 



1. By long continued exposure to the air. If taken 

 from its bed and exposed to the air, it will be gradually 



