r78 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



and that of a sandy soil 4° by the addition of peat. 1 The ap- 

 parent coldness of many peat soils is due to the presence of 

 much water, for they have high absorbent qualities. 



Even though appearing absolutely dry, peat may still con- 

 tain from 10fo to 20/o of moisture. 



Peat also shows considerable affinity for ammonia, absorbing 

 as much as 1.3$ under favorable conditions. 2 



Many sandy soils by the addition of humus or peat, form ex- 

 cellent ground for early market gardening. 



The addition of peat to heavy clay soils increases their porosity 

 and lightens them. 



Peat also promotes the disintegration of mineral matter in 

 the soil, the effect of the humus being that, in contact with cer- 

 tain bases such as alkalis or lime, it absorbs oxygen, and be- 

 comes converted into humic acids. So strong is the affinity of 

 this humus for oxygen, that it may even draw it from oxids in 

 the soil, and thus fix the bases. 



Marine marsh soils. These form a special type, which is found 

 to some extent along the seashore. They are formed by the 

 accumulation of fine mud in sheltered or quiet waters along the 

 coast. On this mud flat there springs up a growth of eelgrass, 

 which serves to entangle more mud and organic remains, thus 

 raising the general level of the flat, and on this raised surface 

 land grasses and plants spread out, forming a, marine marsh. 



The task of reclaiming soils of this type is by no means diffi- 

 cult, as has been pointed out in a circular (no. 1) recently issued 

 toy the divisions of soils of the Department of Agriculture. 



These salt marshes are usually underlain by silt and clay, and 

 may be covered by a foot or so of grass growth. Soils of this 

 type are not usually in need of lime, because they contain more 

 or less shell fragments. If this be lacking, the soil is apt to be 

 too acid, this being either natural or due to the decomposition 

 of organic matter; such sourness may be counteracted by the 

 addition of lime. 



x Mich. Agric. Rep't. 1886. p. 157. 

 2 Johnson. Peat and its Uses, p. 33. 



