SWAMP-MUCK OE PEAT AS MANUHE. 29 



applied in manure, will almost invariably give us a greatly in- 

 creased 'yield of grain crops. I should expect, on my farm, that 

 on land which, without manure, would give me 15 bushels of wheat 

 per acre, such a dressing of manure would give me, in a favorable 

 season, 35 or 40 bushels per acre, with a proportional increase of 

 straw ; and, in addition to this, there would be considerable nitro- 

 gen left for the following crop of clover. Is it not worth while 

 making an earnest effort to get this 80 Ibs. of available nitrogen ? 



I have on my farm many acres of low, mucky land, bordering 

 on the creek, that probably contain several thousand pounds of 

 nitrogen per acre. So long as the land is surcharged with water, 

 this nitrogen, and other plant-food, lies dormant. But drain it, 

 and let in the air, and the oxygen decomposes the organic matter, 

 and ammonia and nitric acid are produced. In other words, we 

 get available nitrogen and other plant-food, and the land becomes 

 capable of producing large crops of corn and grass ; and the crops 

 obtained from this low, rich land, will make manure for the poorer, 

 upland portions of the farm. 



CHAPTER, V. 

 SWAMP-MUCK OR PEAT AS MANURE. o 



" It would pay you," said the Deacon, " to draw out 200 or 300 

 loads of muck from the swamp every year, and compost it with 

 your manure." 



This may or may not be the case. It depends on the composi- 

 tion of the muck, and how much labor it takes to handle it. 



" What you should do," said the Doctor, " is to commence at 

 the creek, and straighten it. Take a gang of men, and be with 

 them with yourself, or get a good foreman to direct operations. 

 Commence at , and straighten the creek to Z>, and from b to c (see 

 map on next page). Throw all the rich, black muck in a heap by 

 itself, separate from the sand. You, or your foreman, must be 

 there, or you will not get this done. A good ditcher will throw out 

 a great mass of this loose muck and sand in a day ; and yon want 

 him to dig, not think. You must do the thinking, and tell him 

 which is muck, and which is only sand and dirt. When thrown 

 up, this muck, in our dry, hot climate, will, in the course of a few 



