PEAT. 



PEAT. 



rieties, the average of the 10 best being per 

 100 parts, dried at a temperature of 300 Fah- 

 renheit, by which process it loses 73 to 97 per 

 cent, of water : soluble geine, 29-46 ; insoluble 

 geine, 55-03 ; total geine, 85-39 ; salts and sili 

 cates, 15-59. The poorest varieties of pond 

 mud gave only 5 to 8 per cent, soluble geine, 

 6 to 9 per cent, insoluble geine, or about 14 per 

 cent, total of geine, and 85 of salts and sili- 

 cates. 



When fresh-dug peat, of average quality, 

 is analyzed in its wet state, it is found to con 

 tain : 



Water 

 Salts of lime 

 Silicates - 

 Geine 



- 85- 



- 14- 



100- 



It is an interesting fact that this result differs 

 very little from the result of the analyses of 

 fresh cow dung, so far as the proportions of 

 geine, water, and salts are concerned. 



When allowed to drain as dry as it will, 

 pond-mud still contains about two-thirds of its 

 weight of water. It shrinks from two-thirds 

 to three-fourths of its bulk, a cubic yard wet 

 becoming one-fourth to one-third of a yard 

 when dry. 



A cord of pond mud weighs, when dug, 6117 

 Ibs., and contains solid matter, 3495 Ibs.; com- 

 posed of geine, 495 Ibs. ; of silicates and salts, 

 3005 Ibs. 



The salts and geine of a cord of peat are 

 equal to the manure of one cow for three 

 months. It is certainly a very curious coin- 

 cidence of results, that nature herself should 

 have prepared a substance, whose agricultural 

 value approaches so near cow dung, the type 

 of manures. The power of producing alkaline 

 action on the insoluble geine, is alone wanted 

 to make peat good cow dung. 



The great question comes, how is to be given 

 to peat, a substance which in all other respects 

 is so nearly allied to cow dung, that lacking 

 element, ammonia, without which cow dung 

 would be no better than peat, nay, not so good, 

 since in peat nearly one-half of the geine or 

 humus is already in a soluble state. It is well 

 understood that the various matters used as 

 manure, either solid or liquid, from whatever 

 source derived, all possess a common property 

 of generating ammonia. Peat in its ordinary 

 slate contains traces of ammonia, which is 

 evolved freely on the addition of caustic pot- 

 ash or common ashes. Peat, then, is a source 

 of nitrogen, since this with hydrogen consti- 

 tutes ammonia. Without going into all the 

 nice chemical reasoning of which Dr. Dana 

 avails himself, we will simply state his main 

 conclusion, namely : that by the addition of 

 alkali to peat, it is put into the state which 

 ammonia gives to dung. 



With regard to the quantity of alkali required 

 to be added to swamp-muck or peat, in order 

 to bring it to an equality with cow dung, "It 

 is found," says Dr. Dana, " that 



52 parts of ammonia are equal to 

 58 parts of soda, or white ash, or to 

 72 parts of 1st quality pot or pearlash, or 

 86 parts of 2d quality pot or pearlash. 

 894 



For all agricultural purposes, it may be con. 

 sidered, that salts of hartshorn, or carbonate 

 of ammonia, and white or soda ash, are equal, 

 pound for pound, and that pots and pearls may 

 be taken at one-half more. 



"If all the nitrogen in dung becomes ammo- 

 nia, then each 100 Ibs. affords 2 Ibs. 2 oz. 

 Hence, if to 100 Ibs. fresh-dug peat, there are 

 added 2 Ibs. of soda ash, or 3 Ibs. of pot or 

 p^arl ashes, all the good effects of real cow 

 dung will be produced. Peat or muck thus 

 requires 2 per cent, of soda ash, or 3 per cent, 

 of potash. 



"A cord of green peat weighs 9216 Ibs.; 2 

 per cent, is 184 Ibs. Hence, a cord requires 

 that amount of soda ash, or 276 Ibs. of potash. 

 But if the peat is quite dry, so as to have lost 

 | of its bulk, then 736 Ibs. of soda ash, or 

 1104 Ibs. potash will be necessary. Two per 

 cent, of alkali seems enormous. It is stated, 

 in the hope that it may lead to experiments on 

 the free use of alkali. But as it will be here- 

 after shown, that this is to be reduced by mix- 

 ing with loam or other matter, this quantity, 

 even if applied to one acre, will probably pro- 

 duce very good effects. 



"There are other practical facts, which may 

 help to a solution of the question, how much 

 alkali is to be added to a cord of peat. Ac- 

 cording to the experience of Mr. Phinney, of 

 Lexington, an authority which may not be 

 questioned, a cord of green dung converts 

 twice its bulk of peat into a manure of equal, 

 value to itself that is, a cord of clear stable 

 dung, composted with two of peat, forms a> 

 manure of equal value to three cords of green, 

 dung. Indeed, the permanent effects of this 

 compost, according to Mr. Phinney, exceed 

 those of stable dung. On this fact, 2 Ibs. of 

 ammonia in 100 Ibs. of cow dung, should con- 

 vert 200 Ibs. of fresh-dug peat into good cow 

 dung. The equivalents of these, as has been 

 shown, are 2 Ibs. of soda ash, or 3 Ibs. of pot- 

 ash. Allowing the gaseous ammonia to be 

 divided equally among the 300 Ibs. of dung 

 and peat, this is in proportion of 10$ oz. of 

 soda ash, or I Ib. of potash to 100 Ibs. of fresh 

 peat. Now this calculation, deduced from ac- 

 tual experiment, confirms the theoretical pro- 

 portions, supposing only 3 of the nitrogen acts, 

 though that was made before the author met 

 with the statement of Mr. Phinney." 



Dr. Dana furnishes another striking evidence 

 of the favourable results from applying artifi- 

 cial manure. " Mr. George Robbins, of Water- 

 town," he says, "is an extensive manufacturer 

 of soap and candles, and of starch, and, still 

 better, a man who employs the refuse of those 

 trades in enriching and gladdening his land. 

 For four years (and it is believed his crops 

 will compare with any of the best cultivators 

 around him) he has not used a spoonful of 

 manure made by any animal, walking either 

 on two legs or on four. He keeps 11 horses, 

 4 cows, 100 hogs; he uses not a shovelful of 

 their manure, but, selling that, he uses peat and 

 swamp-muck, mixed with his spent barilla 

 ashes. The proportions are, 1 part of spent 

 ashes to 3 of peat, dug up in the fall, mixed in 

 he spring. After shovelling two or three times, 

 it is spread and ploughed in. The effect is 



