156 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



three loads of manure from the hog-pen was put on No. 1, 

 and the whole was ploughed eight inches deep ; the same on 

 No. 2, and the whole was ploughed four inches deep ; the same 

 on No. o, and the whole was cultivated, harrowed, and planted 

 with onions. No. 4 received the same amount of the same 

 manure. The onions did not come up ; and on tlie 23d of May 

 it was planted with white flint corn, in hills three feet apart. 

 The corn was cut up at the ground, September 10th, and was 

 husked on the 20th. The products were as follows : — 



MUCK, AND ITS USES. 



BY SANFORD HOWARD. 



Perhaps some definition should be given, in the first place, 

 of the term muck. In England it is applied to the ordinary 

 manures of the farm ; hence tlie adage — " Muck is the mother 

 of money." In our country, or at least in this section, the 

 term is commonly applied to the substance of bogs and swamps, 

 including, in many instances, wliat would be called peat in 

 other countries. It is seldom that much discrimination is used 

 in its application, and it is therefore made to comprehend 

 substances which differ greatly in composition and value. As 

 a matter of course, the estimation in which farmers hold what 

 is called muck, varies widely. One man says it is worthless, 

 or nearly so, while another considers it of nearly equal value 

 with farm-yard manure. This discrepancy may be accounted 

 for in part by the difference in quality of so-called muck, in 

 part by the manner in which it is used, and in part by the 

 character of the soil to which it is applied. 



To further illustrate the subject, we may consider the origin 

 of the different kinds of muck. That which is most common 



