Miscellaneous Fertilizing Materials 107 



Sewage. 



In recent years, great progress has been made in the 

 handling of sewage from cities, and there is now a product 

 called " sewage sludge/' which is obtained in many towns, 

 as a result of its chemical treatment. Such examinations 

 as have been made of this product show it to be very poor 

 in the fertilizing constituents, showing less than .20 per 

 cent nitrogen, .05 phosphoric acid and .05 potash. It is 

 seldom worth the handling. The untreated sewage and 

 garbage wastes are also obtainable in large quantities, 

 and while the constituents contained in them act quickly, 

 and while they are considerably richer in these than the 

 sludge wastes, it seldom pays the farmer to handle them, 

 owing to their offensive character and the enormous 

 amount of useless moisture contained in them. 



A number of state institutions, sanatariums, prisons, 

 reform schools and the like which maintain a large number 

 of persons and farms run in connection with the insti- 

 tution have not only installed separate sewage systems, 

 but they have also equipped these systems in a manner 

 which permits the use of the sewage as a part of irrigation 

 systems. This practice of utilizing sewage has proved 

 very successful in a number of instances, but the liquid 

 should not be used as freely as water and care should be 

 exercised in its application. 



Muck and peat. 



On many farms there are low, wet places, where the 

 conditions are favorable for the collection of partially de- 

 cayed vegetable matter. The material thus formed is 

 called muck or peat. The thickness of the deposit, and 

 its character, depend upon the time during which it has 

 been formed, and the character of the climate. 



