1910.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 39 



THE UTILIZATION OF PEAT IN 

 AGRICULTURE. 



BY II. D. HASKINS. 



Peat is composed largely of partially decomposed vegetable 

 matter. In its natural condition, when found in the swamp, it 

 is very dark or nearly black in color and contains about 80 to 

 90 i^er cent, of water. The limited use of peat dates back many 

 years, before the introduction of the commercial fertilizer, but 

 in the early history of its use little was known regarding its 

 chemical composition. It was used as a supplement to farmyard 

 manure and to improve the mechanical condition of light, sandy 

 and gravelly soils. If we should measure the value of peat for 

 agricultural purjioses from the standard of a chemical analysis, 

 the standard by which the worth of all commercial manurial 

 substances is established, we would find that its greatest value 

 lies in its organic nitrogen-containing constituents, which means 

 the organic combinations commonly known as humus. 



During the jiast fifteen years there have been many analyses 

 of peat made at this laboratory. These analyses, 55 in number, 

 and representing products from every county in the State, have 

 been averaged, and will serve to illustrate fairly well the chemi- 

 cal composition of the peats found in Massachusetts. A dis- 

 crimination has been made between peat and muck samples ; 

 those containing a relatively high percentage of insoluble matter 

 or ash, and which are commonly known as muck deposits, have 

 been excluded from the average. 



Average Chemical Composition of 55 Samples of Peat made at the 

 Massachusetts Experiment Station Laboratory. 



Moistiu-e, 60.85 



Dry matter, . 39.15 



100.00 



