306 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



fornia and m Florida are upon muck soils. In Florida 

 these areas are known as "hammock soils" and "saw- 

 grass marshes." They vary from I to 10 feet or more in 

 depth and are formed of decayed vegetable matter. There 

 should be a depth of not less than 18 inches of muck 

 to secure the most satisfactory results. In the best 

 celery mucks the water table is about 3 feet below the 

 surface. In such soil the crop will not suffer seriously 

 during drouth. When the water table is near the surface 

 the soil is soft and difficult to work with horses and there 

 is also danger of an excessive amount of water in wet 

 seasons. 



The following is an analysis of a Kalamazoo muck soil 

 (Mich. Sta. Bui. 99, p. 12) used for celery: 



Per cent 



Sand and silicates 19.16 



Alumina 1.40 



Oxide of iron 3.94 



Lime 6.09 



Magnesia 0.81 



Potash 0.34 



Soda 0.38 



Sulphuric acid 1.31 



Phosphoric acid 0.88 



Carbonic acid 1 .95 



Organic matter (containing 2.53 of nitrogen) 63.76 



Water 6.51 



Other analyses published in the bulletin referred to 

 indicate that there is very little variation in the composi- 

 tion of Michigan mucks. 



When cleared, muck soils are often very acid and re- 

 quire large applications of lime before they will pro- 

 duce the best crops of celery. The accumulation of 

 alkalies in irrigated lands of the West is not apparently 

 injurious to the growth of celery. A first-class muck is 

 brown-black in color, friable, free from coarse, fibrous 

 material and will produce no change on blue litmus 

 paper. Sour mucks are unfit for cultivation until, in 

 addition to liming, they are weathered by being exposed 

 to the action of frost during the winter. 



