MUCK IN THE COMPOST. 199 



able for the expected crop, ought, with a favorable season, to 

 produce good results. 



We have not said anything about draining, an important 

 operation in preparing soils where too wet, as we understood the 

 subject to apply to soils otherwise suitable for crops. This thor- 

 ough preparation of the soil is of the greatest importance to 

 market gardeners, and to the growers of small fruits. Andrew 

 Fuller, in the Small Fruit Culturist, expresses his belief that there 

 is not one acre of strawberries in a thousand, cultivated in this 

 country, that yields one-half that it would if the ground was 

 properly prepared before planting. Your Committee are also 

 well satisfied that, in the preparation of soils, it is beneficial 

 to the crops to dress low or peaty soils composed of vegetable 

 matter to a large extent, either with sand directly, or with sand, 

 or sandy loam in the composts to be applied to such soils, as 

 they are usually deficient in silica, so necessary in the produc- 

 tion of grass or grain ; and that muck applied to a sandy soil, 

 when it can be procured within a reasonable distance, furnishes 

 such a soil with the vegetable matter that it is usually deficient 

 in. It also acts as an absorbent, retaining the water, and, to 

 some extent, preventing damage from a drought. 



Perhaps the better way would be to use muck in the compost 

 heap ; there it retains the ammonia, absorbs the gases, and is 

 undoubtedly one of the best of deodorizers ; such a compost is 

 particularly adapted to fruit trees and small fruits, and is in fact 

 a good dressing for almost any crop, and by many thought to be 

 equal to manure, load for load, in value. We have also seen 

 excellent results from its application to clayey soils ; by mixing 

 with the clay it prevents such a soil from compacting and baking 

 in a dry time, as well as by furnishing plant food. Of course 

 the foregoing remarks about the use of muck are intended to 

 apply to a good article. We are well aware that there are beds 

 of muck, so charged with mineral or other matters as to be en- 

 tirely unfit for vegetation, or certainly until such noxious sub- 

 stances are neutralized by some proper preparation. 



Before planting the seed, the first thing to be done is to pro- 

 cure a suitable variety to be grown, and no reasonable expense 

 should be spared to procure such a variety. Good seed may be 

 known by its weight, size, and plumpness. A poor, shrivelled 

 or imperfect seed may be capable of germination, and in many 



