SWAMr-MlOIv OK PEAT AS MANURE. 20 



applied in inaniirc, will alinusl iiivaiiahly ijivc us a iircally in- 

 crcasccl yifUl (if i^r.uii cioiks. 1 slioukl expect, on my farm, that 

 on land wiiieli, without n)ainire, 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 i)er acre, with a proportional increase of 

 straw ; and, in additio.i to this, there would be considerable nitro- 

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

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



I have on my farm many acres of low, muck}- land, bordering 

 on the creek, that probably contain several thousand jiounds of 

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

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

 and let in tlie air, and t!ie oxygen decomposes the organic matter, 

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

 get amilable 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. 



" 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 tlie 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 n, and straighten the creek to b, 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 you want 

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

 which is muck, and which is onl}- sand and dirt. When thrown 

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



