54 THE VALUE OF MEADOW MUCK 



5,120 pounds and 7,400 pounds per cord, and gave an average 

 for all of 6.060 pounds per cord, or approximately three tons. 

 On a basis of three tons, one cord of the average barnynrd 

 manure would contain 



Nitrogen. Phosphoric acid. Potash. Organic matter. 



23 1-4 lbs. 15 lbs. 23 1-4 lbs. 1,600 lbs. 



The average composition of wet meadow muck was calcu- 

 lated from the results of ten analyses made at this station to- 

 gether with twenty eight reported from the Vermont and ten 

 from the Maine Experiment Stations.^ 



Water, nitrogen, and organic matter are the only constitu- 

 ents considered in the mucks because potash and phosphoric 

 acid are not present in quantity and of availability sufficient 

 to warrant analysis. 



The average percentages of water and nitrogen in 48 sam- 

 ples and of organic matter in 29 samples were as follows : 



Water. Nitrogen. Organic matter. 



77.36 .452 17.04 



The mucks were somewhat wetter than the manures, the 

 former having from 55 to 89 per cent, of water and the latter 

 from 53 to 79 per cent. 



No weights of a cord of wet muck have been found, there- 

 fore it has been necessary to assume that a cord of it is as 

 heavy as a cord of manure, which is probably an underesti- 

 mate. 



On the basis of three tons, a cord of the average muck would 

 contain 



Nitrogen. Organic matter. 



27 lbs. 1,022 lbs. 



To put the muck on a basis comparable with the manures, 

 the following facts have been considered. 



In fertilizers, nitrogen costs about three times as much as 

 available phosphoric acid and potash. 



Therefore the 38 1-4 pounds of phosphoric acid and potash 

 1 Vermont Exp. Sta. Repts. 1890 to 1899. Maine Exp. Sta. Bull. 74. 



