1861. 



KEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



273 



to every part, so that it may be broiled in a short 

 time and retain all its juices. It might not, 

 perhaps, suit all boarding-house keepers, but for 

 the family who would like a tender and juicy 

 steak, it is an excellent article. 



For the New England Farmer. 



THB CULTIVATION OF MUCK OR PEAT 

 MEADOWS. 



Although much has been said and written in 

 favor of reclaiming and cultivating these lands, 

 and much labor and capital has been spent in 

 their subjection, yet it remains a question in the 

 minds of many intelligent farmers, whether the 

 time and money thus spent are, on the whole, 

 profitable investments. 



Some experienced farmers of my acquaintance 

 have made experiments upon these lands, until 

 they are convinced that the business does not pay. 

 The meadows have been properly drained, the 

 thin layer of moss, roots and wild grasses re- 

 moved from the surface ; the land has been plowed 

 or chopped over, a sprinkling of sand, loam, or 

 clay applied, and seeded down. For tv/o or three 

 years, there would be a tolerable crop of English 

 hay, but after that time, the natural grasses would 

 spring up again, and root out the foreign kinds. 

 But a few years would elapse, before the meadow 

 would be less productive than it was while in its 

 natural state. Means were taken to arrest the 

 growth of the wild grasses, but they did not have 

 a permanent effect. 



To spread a coat of gravel or sand upon the 

 meadow of a thickness sufficient to kill the origi- 

 nal grass roots, would require an amount of cap- 

 ital which but few farmers have to spare ; and in 

 addition to the above expense, the upland soil 

 would have to be robbed of a portion of its fertile 

 matter, to form an artificial soil upon this bed of 

 gravel, or nothing would grow. This mode of 

 operation is also one of extremely doubtful utili- 

 ity. From my own observation and experience, 

 and from that of others well qualified to judge, I 

 have come to the conclusion, that if the same 

 amount of labor and capital which is annually ex- 

 pended in the cultivation of these meadows, was 

 employed in subsoiling, trenching, draining, and 

 manuring uplands of average fertility, the fai-mer 

 would receive double, if not treble the amount of 

 profit. 



Nature is ever ready to assist man when he 

 does not transgress her laws, but these laws are 

 transgressed when he attempts to rear upon muck 

 or peat meadows, plants or grasses, which natu- 

 rally grow only upon the dry land. 



The cranberry crop is the only one within my 

 knowledge which can be profitably raised upon 

 these meadows. The present market price of this 

 fruit should be a sufficient inducement, it seems 

 to me, for the owner of such lands to commence 

 its cultivation, if he has a good stock of patience 

 and perseverance to carry it through. But the 

 principal purpose for which these places were 

 formed by the all-wise Creator, is just beginning 

 to be generally understood. 



It is found that muck, when properly applied 

 to almost every variety of upland soil, will pro- 

 duce highly beneficial results upon all kinds of 



plants, grasses, and fruit trees. In the renovation 

 of old, worn-out pasture lands, I have not the 

 least doubt, that an application of muck, after it 

 has been thrown out a year or more, and become 

 finely pulverized, and mixed with a small propor- 

 tion of potash, soda ash, or common wood ashes, 

 would have an extremely beneficial efi'ect. Has 

 any one ever given this mode of operation a fair 

 trial ? 



Do you think, Mr. Editor, that if a farmer has 

 a few acres of muck meadow, he can put such 

 land to a better use, than to keep it in reserve, as 

 a source from whence to draw a yearly supply of 

 fertilizing matter for the benefit of his uplands ? 



As this is a subject of great importance, it is 

 hoped that all who have had practical experience 

 concerning it, will give to the readers of the Far- 

 mer, the result of their observations. 



South Oroton, 1861. S. L. White. 



Remarks. — The plan of our correspondent of 

 mixing old meadow muck with some alkaline 

 substance, as a dressing for pastures or fields of 

 sandy loam, is an excellent one — and a muck bed 

 held in reserve for this purpose, is valuable prop- 

 erty. 



Whether we shall reclaim our muck meadow, 

 however, depends upon circumstances. Some of 

 the best, and most profitable lands on the farms 

 all about us, were reclaimed muck meadows — no 

 other lands of the farms pay so good an inter- 

 est, taking into account the original value of the 

 land and the cost of reclaiming. But they will 

 not all do this. It must depend mainly upon the 

 cost of reclamation. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 POUDKETTE. 



Messes. Editors : — I have for several years 

 experimented with the various fertilizers recom- 

 mended to the farmers for their wonderful effects 

 on vegetation, and have been sadly disappointed. 

 Last season I was induced to purchase four bar- 

 rels of "TheLodi Manufacturing Company's Pou- 

 drette," which I used principally on my corn crop. 

 For many years my practice has been to plow or 

 harrow in the manure, and apply some concen- 

 trated manure in the hill, to give the crop an 

 early start. 



I have found guano and the superphosphates, 

 however carefully managed when put into the hill, 

 are apt to injure the seed and prevent its germina- 

 tion ; not so with poudrette. Last season I ap- 

 plied it to the corn in the hill with perfect safety, 

 and with the most satisfactory results ; the corn 

 came up well, gi*ew vigorously, and had at least 

 ten days the start of the corn where no poudrette 

 was applied, and notwithstanding the early frosts 

 injured our crops seriously, yet I am satisfied that 

 a much larger portion was fully matured where 

 the poudrette was applied, than on the other 

 part. In fact, I consider it one of the cheapest 

 concentrated fertilizers extant, and shall use it 

 extensively the present season. 



Horace Collamore. 



Pembroke, April 26. 1861. 



