318 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



APRII- ?, 1K41. 



AND HORTrCULTUr.AL RfGlSTF.R. 



Boston, Wednesday, Apbii- 7, 



18-!1. 



MUCK— MUCK. 



Almost every agricuUuriil writer is inclined to ride 

 some hobby. We find oiHsr// inclined to bridle and sad- 

 dle " muck"— 10 buckle on spurs and drive ahead. The 

 way before us is mirij, and wc may got bespattered : but 

 a little mud has had no Icirors for us in days of yoie, 

 and wt have no feais lli.it we shall prove a coward in 

 leading us many farmers as will follow us, to an attack 

 upon swamps and muck holes. 



These bog meadows are among the best lands in the 

 eastern pari of Masaachosetis, and they coniain inabuii- 

 dande, ma'erials by which we ni.'iy, and by which we 

 shall, in a lew years greaily enrich our uplands. These 

 bo-s are the most valuable part of our farms. 'J'his as- 

 sertion is made deliberately. We are aware of its ex- 

 tent and its import. We have made it seriously, and 

 we predict that not miii\y years will pass away before 

 its truth will be generally admitted. 



Leaving at present all consideration of their worth 

 for cultivation, we wish to draw attention to them as 

 sources from which manure can be obtained. Muck, 

 properly prepared, and spread over our uplands, will 

 greatly enhance their fertility. " .Stop, young man"— 

 methinks I bear the aged farmer saying—" Stop, young 

 man. I have used ibis muck, and experience tells me 

 that it is sour stuff, doing often more harm tlian good to 

 the uplands. Such is the lesson which ciperience has 

 often tavght." We do not deny it — we do not doubt it; 

 we know that it is true. Muck, as it comes from its 

 bed, is often, is almost always, sour; it will impart of 

 its sourness to the soil on which it is applied. This 

 sourness is the natural product of the decomposition 

 which the vegetable matters composing the muck have 

 undergone. And until that sourness is removed, this 

 meadow mud is not a manure ; it does not furnish food 

 for plants ; but as soon as the sourness is removed— as 

 soon as the acid is neutralized— this muck is nourishing 

 to the crops that we cultivate. 



How then can we remove the acid or counteract it i 

 Exposure to the action of frosts and winds, rains and 

 suns, will do much towards cliecting the desired change. 

 Farmers might do well to have three or (our years' sup- 

 ply always on hand, and then not use that which has 

 not had three or four years' exposure to the weather. 

 But it is not necessary to w.-iit thus long In all eases 

 befo;e we avail ourselves of the use of this article. We 

 can, by the use of animal manure and lime, neutralize 

 tho acid of the muck in a few months or weeks, and 

 thus more speedily enlarge otir manure iieaps. 



The principles of making composts from muck, dung 

 and lime or ashes, as recommended by Dr. C. T. Jack- 

 son, of Ibis city, we gave in our report of his remarks 

 at the Stale House ; but deeming them most highly im- 

 portant, we make no apology lor repeating them in our 

 own words. Take one conl of dung and mix it thor- 

 ouohlv with two cords of muck, that has been for seve- 

 ral months at least, expos d to the action of the atmos- 

 phere. Then apply one halt of a cord of muck to the 

 outside of the heap, as a coaling ; pat this coaling hard 

 and smooth as you can with the shovel. If the whole 

 be covered with straw or hay, this will bo an improve- 

 ment. Let the mass lie in this state for several months; 

 to mix in the autumn :ind suffer to remain until spri:ig, 

 is a good course. Then, about 10 or 15 days before the 

 manure is to be applied to the land, take one bushel of 

 ••tjslaked lime to a cord of compost. Slake this lime. 



but do it with so little water that it shall be a line, dry 

 powder. Now throw over the heap, mixing this lime 

 well into the ina-s. Again coat the whole heap with 

 another halfcord of miifk. 'I'ho whole Ibur cords in 

 the course ol two weeks u'lll become good manure. The 

 ammonia Ei%en out by the dung, will have neulialized 

 the acid of the muck. 



Heaps formed at this season may answer for use after 

 the middle of May ; though it would be better to allow 

 a longer time We make an earnest appeal to such 

 farmers as have the materials in readiness to try this 

 process and adhere closely to the rule. We wish to 

 know distinctiv whether science here is furnisliing a 

 valuable rule to guide us in our art. 



Imagination carries u<, reader, to your fireside, and 

 bears you saying, " 1 'II try thai, but 1 'II save some of 

 the labor; I 11 put my lime in when 1 first mix up the 

 heap." It is our turn now to say " Stop, sir, slop. — 

 We want before you go to work, to tell you that the 

 great object is to neutralize (or counteract, or fix or de- 

 stroy) «Ae acirfm the muck. The more ammonia you 

 can extract or set free from the dung at once, tlie more 

 effectually you will do your work. Now lime applied 

 to (lung in Us green state, will not help to throw out 

 ammonia half as fast as if the dung he considerably de- 

 composed bef'ne ihe lime is used. If, then, you save 

 the labor in the way proposed, you fail to get that large 

 quantity ol ammonia, at ime time, which, if produced, 

 would work like leaven through every lump and parti- 

 cle of muck in the heap and neutralize the acid. 



" Well, Ihen, Mr Editor," you say, '• I '11 save labor 

 by letting the dung get considerably decomposed before 

 1 goto work upon it, and then will put in both muck 

 and lime at once. " Do so, sir, if you please ; but ifyou 

 do, the winds will have carried much of your ammonia 

 to Maine or to Georgia, before you begin to use it ; and 

 therefore the quantity of muck which your dung will 

 change into manure is very materially lessened. 



Let the dung, while green, be mixed with muck, be- 

 cause the ammoni.r which passes off in its first stages of 

 decomposition, will then be saved and used. But do 

 not put your lime in for several weeks, because its ac- 

 tion upon dung tli:it has undergone considerable change, 

 throws off ammonia much faster than fiom fresh dung. 

 The faster the ammonia is generated or set free at any 

 one time, the more ihoroughly it will penetrate the 

 muck. 



The priniipcd use of the lime in this process is, to 

 generate ammonia rapidly from the dung This ammo- 

 nia is the strong smelling effluvia or gas, that goes off 

 from the fijrnienled dung heap. The saine substance is 

 sometimes called hartshorn, and is used in ladies' smell- 

 ing bottles. The great object is to generate or liberate 

 this under such circumstances that it slii.ll pass into 

 muck and counteract its aid 



But does not lime itself, when put into the muck heap 

 without dung, neutralize the acid.' It docs, as far as it 

 comes in contact with the muck. Why not then use 

 muck and lime alone, or muck and ashes alone, with- 

 out putting in dung? Because in sueli cases, the lime 

 and ashes act but little on any other parts of the muck 

 than those which touch the lime or ashes. Them is no 

 steam — no gas— to penetiate the lumps and do the work 

 thoroughly. But put in the dung — raise the steam — and 

 the steam, if properly confined by the outside coating of 

 the heap, will penetrate every lump and particle, and 

 make the whole good for nourishing plants. 



Urine will -iiiswer the same purposes of dung in this 

 process of neutralizing acid. Ashes will answer in the 

 place of li ne. Loam may be substituted fir muck, but 

 is far less valuable. 



jecl well ; for we are satisfied that t>.e best manner of 



preparing muck for use on our land>, is one of the most 

 important practical questions now .nijilalcd by our agri- 

 culturists. 



We will dismount now ; but it will no! probably be 

 Inn" before we shall bestride our hobby again. 



SPRING WORK. 



Mr Putnam — I noticed an article in your paper of last 

 week, under the hi:ad of "Spring VVoik" 1 wish to 

 know how fiir you wish your remarks in regard to 

 ploughing to exiend. If green sward was last spring 

 turned in, was planted and hoed, and is this seasnn in- 

 tended for gram, is it best to plough it, or use a eultiva- 

 toi or harrow without ploughing? If it is best to plough, 

 how deep ? Is itbest to turn up the old sward or plough 

 light and let the sward remain undisluibed. Also, 

 wbeihcr land that is highly manured requires as much 

 oloui'liiii" (as it remains lighter) as land ihnt is not ma. 

 nured. A SUBSCRIBER. 



Our opinion is against disturbing the sod If the land 

 was ploughed sufficiently deep last year to enable "A 

 Sub.sciiber'' to plough without bringing up the sod, it 

 may be well to plough. Though this is not essential if 

 (ither the cullivaior or the harrow i.- faithfully used. If 

 the last \ ear's ploughing of sward land was shallow, it 

 will be better not to plough. Still the surlace should be 

 well pulverized and remixed. The land that was highly 

 manured will doubtless produce a good crop without 

 sliiring it very thoroughly ; hut we believe that a faith- 

 ful remixing of manure and soil — that the bringing of 

 new particles in contact — would be of as much service 



would be labor as profitably emjiloyed — as the labor 



bestowed upon ground not so well manured. The ob. 

 ject would be, not so much to make the land light, as 

 to remix the manure in the soil. 



ANALYSIS OF SOILS. 

 Oor friend from Providence who says, " I should ben 

 glad to learn if there is any one in this vicinity who re- 

 ceives sainples of soils for the purpose of analyzing , 

 them, ' is referred to the report of the Committee to 

 whom was referred the communication of Dr. Nichols. 

 That report was published in our paper of March 17th. 

 Dr. C. T. Jackson, of this city, wliose name is attached 

 to the report, is the only individual with whom we arOi 

 acquainted, who would be likely to undertake such la- 

 bor. We have no knowledge of his disposition in rela- 

 tion to this mailer ; but we will hazard the conjecture 

 that if specimens are sent him immediately, befere the 

 season invites him to the field, in the prosecution of his 

 survey of New Hampshire, that he maybe willing to 

 analyze them. His terms, we presume, may be learned 

 from that report. , I 



\Xj'That cut which, through some inadvertence, was 

 placed at the head of the advertisement of " Willis's 

 Latest Improved Seed Sower," in our last pa[)er, was 

 not exactly a correct likeness of the implement adver- 

 tised, but a faithful representation of'' Bachelder's Plant- ' 

 ing Machine'' — an aiticle of very dissimilar construction. 

 Blunders will occur sometimes — cccn in printing ojjicis ! 



Again we tirge it ujion farmers to consider this sub- 



MASS. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The Committee on Fruits of the Mass Horticullural 

 Society, are lequesled to meet at their rooms on Satur. 

 day next at 10, A. M., on business of importance. 



The members of the Society are informed that the 

 seeds recently received from Paris, will be distributed 

 on Salurd.iy next, the 10th insl., at 11 o'clock. 



[p" Henry Cidman, Ksq., ol this city, has accepted an 

 invii.ilion i>f (be Ameiican Institute, New York, lo de. 

 liver an address belore its mt nitiers and the jiublic, or 

 Wednesday next. Subject — "The Agriculture of thi 

 United Slates." 



O-'I'HE PREt^IDENT OF THE UNITED STATED 

 Wit.i.iAM Henrv Harrison, is no more ! He died it 

 VVashington, the <lth of April, A. D. \S4i, at thirly mi' 

 nutes belore one o'clock in the morning. Wu may giTf 

 further notice of the melancholy event m our next. 



