BEYIEWS — ACADIAN GEOLOGY. 41 



The red marsh, though varying somewhat in quality, is the best soil in the 

 province, and much of it compares favorably with the most celebrated alluvial soils 

 of the old and new worlds. The following analysis of recently deposited marsh 

 mud from Truro, will serve to show the composition of this kind of soil. 



Moisture, *5 



Organic matter, 15 



f Chlorine, ) lx '095 



Soda, \ ^common salt, . n5 



Soluble I Potash, '013 



in ■{ Sulphuric Acid, ) -07 8 

 Water. I Lime, [ as gypsum, 061 



| Alumina, '005 



(_ Magnesia, - 004 



f Carbonate of Lime, 3'60 



Oxide of Iron, 274 



Soluble in | Alumina, 1'20 



Hydrochloric ^ Magnesi?, '11 



Acid. Soda and Potash, "8 



I Phosphoric Acid, '09 



[Silicious Sand (very fine), 88'00 



So valuable is this soil, though nearly destitute of organic matter, that it is found 

 profitable to cart it upon the upland as a manure. Its best varieties have now 

 been cropped without manure for more than two centuries without becoming unpro- 

 ductive ; though there can be no question that under this treatment a gradual 

 diminution of its fertility is perceptible. The weakest point of the marsh land, 

 judging from the above analysis, is its small proportion of phosphates. It is pro- 

 bable, however, that this is in part compensated by the presence of fish bones and 

 other matters of organic origin, which do not appear in an analysis. Yet I have 

 no doubt that the cheapest manure for failing marsh will be found to be bone dust 

 or guano, which, by supplying phosphates, will restore it nearly to its original con- 

 dition. There seems no reason to suppose that a soil with the fine mixture of 

 mineral ingredients present in the marsh mud, requires any artificial supply of 

 ammoniacal matters. Draining is well known to be essential to the fertility of the 

 marshes, and many valuable tracts of this land are now in an unproductive condi- 

 tion from its neglect. The fertility of failing marsh may also be restored by 

 admitting the sea to cover it with a new deposit. This remedy, however, involves 

 the loss of several crops, as some years are required to remove from the new soil 

 its saline matter. It is, however, observed, that in some situations the newly diked 

 marsh produces spontaneously a crop of couch grass and other plants, the seeds of 

 which must have been washed into the sea by streams and deposited with the mud. 



The low or inner marsh, which I have previously mentioned, under its other 

 names of blue marsh and corky dike, is much less valuable than the red. It con- 

 tains, however, much more vegetable matter, and sometimes approaches to the 

 character of a boggy swamp ; so that when a quantity of it is taken out and spread 

 over the upland, it forms a useful manure. It emits a fetid smell when recently 

 turned up, and the water oozing from it stains the ground of a rusty color. It 

 produces in its natural state crops of coarse grass, but when broken up is unpro- 

 ductive, with the sole exception that rank crops of oats can sometimes be obtained 

 from it. 



The chemical composition of this singular soil, so unlike the red mud from which 

 it is produced, involves some changes which are of interest both in agriculture aud 



