PEAT COMPOST. 259 



ner in which the compost was prepared upon the farm of 

 Mr. Sandford, near the village of VVickford in North King- 

 ston. " In the corner of the field a cleared and level spot 

 was rolled down smooth and hard, and the swamp muck 

 was spread upon it, forming a bed eight feet wide, about 

 fifteen or twenty feet long, and nine inches thick. For 

 every wagon load of the muck one barrel offish was added, 

 and the fish were spread on the surface of the muck, and 

 allowed to become putrescent. The moment they began to 

 decompose, he again covered them with peat, and a renew- 

 ed layer of fish was spread and covered in the same man- 

 ner. The fermentation was allowed to proceed for two or 

 three weeks, when the compost was found to have become 

 fit for the land. To this he was advised to add lime in the 

 proportion of one cask to each load of compost early in 

 the spring, which it was supposed would complete the de- 

 composition in two or three weeks. Such a heap should 

 be rounded up and covered, so as to prevent the rain wash- 

 ing out the valuable salts, that form in it. And in case of 

 the escape of much ammonia, more swamp muck or peat 

 should be spread upon the heap, for the purpose of absorb- 

 ing it." Dr. Jackson is of opinion, that the phosphoric acid 

 of the peat and animal matter would convert the lime into 

 a phosphate, and thus approximate it very closely to bone 

 manure. — Report^ p. 170. 



Any refuse animal matter can be, of course, employed 

 in a similar manner. ** The carcass of a dead horse, which 

 is often suflTered to pollute the air by its noxious effluvia, 

 has been happily employed in decomposing 20 tons of peat 

 earth, and transforming it into the most enriching manure." 

 — Young's Letters ofJlgricola, Letter 25, p. 238.* 



Night soil may be composted with peat with great advan- 

 tage, sufl[icient lime being added to deprive it of odor; large 

 quantities of ammonia are given oflf and absorbed. t 



Appended to Dr. Jackson's Report will be found a letter 



* In a Report on a Reexamination of the Geology of Massachusetts^ 

 1838, Dr. Dana particularly notices the evolution of ammonia from fer- 

 menting dung, and supposes that the ammonia combines with geine to 

 form a soluble compound. See J^ote to page 83 of the Report. 



t JVight-Soil. The quantity of night-soil collected and removed from 

 the city of Boston annually, is about four hundred thousand square feet. 

 It is used by cultivators in the immediate vicinity, being composted 

 with soil, lime, peat^ &c. Large quantities of animal matter from 

 slaughter-houses, and other sources, are also made use of. The heaps 

 are left exposed, uncovered to the air, and the value of the compost is 

 consequently greatly diminished. See page 199. 



