8 
AGRICULTURAL VALUE OF SALT MARSHES. 
To determine the agricultural value of such lands several samples of 
the salt marsh areas around Oyster Bay, on Long Island, were collected 
and subjected to laboratory examination. These are very probably 
representative of much larger areas of salt marsh, and the results of 
their examination will no doubt prove of interest to owners of salt 
marshes all along the coast, 
As has been indicated, there are many kinds of salt marshes and tidal 
flats—some merely bare mud flats without vegetation, and others with a 
heavy growth of grass and with a sod a foot or more thick. In any 
locality such differences are due to the age of the marsh, and the two 
cases mentioned can be considered as representing youth and old age in 
marsh growth. 
Mechanical analyses of tide marsh soils from New York. 
Locality of soil. ' Sand. Silt. Clay. 
| 
Per cent. | Percent. | Per cent. 
5379. Mud from tidal flat, west end Lloyds Harbor, 0-6 inches ee 44.8 } 42.0 
5875. Subsoil from outer marsh, Center Island, 36-66 inches ___ 28 .0 44.9 helt 
5378. Subsoil from inner marsh, Center Island, 24-72 inches __- 38.0 37.1 24.9 
Chemical analyses of tide marsh soils from New York. 
5379 5374 5375 5376 5877 5378 
Composition. Soil Soil Subsoil Soil Subsoil Subsoil 
0-6 In. 0-36 in. 36-66 in. 0-12 in. 12-24im. ; 24-72 in. 
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. | Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 
lnmen(Ca@) oss. eee ee ORAS S peer OF 315. Ree ee ee 0.41 
Potash (kKeO) pe ee ne O25 (SIE See eee Feta fen (eres pa een ee ye Be 0.68 
Phosphorie acid (P2035) __- O16 6 aaa QNT4E ete Se ee ee ae ee 0.12 
Orzaniecwmm ater 7.18 29.00 5.36 34.70 25 .49 10.90 
Soluble in water _________- 2.16 4.07 2.55 1.87 3.87 3.56 
The two tables show the results of the laboratory examinations of 
the Oyster Bay samples. Sample No. 5379 was collected from the 
tidal mud flat in the west end of Lloyds’ Harbor, and represents the 
soil on which the salt marsh grows, or, in other words, is the salt 
marsh in youth. At low tide this mud flat is only a foot or 18 
inches above the level of the water in the harbor, but at high tide it 
is covered with salt water 4 or 5 feet ‘deep. At the present time 
the eel-grass has just commenced to grow on the mud, and it is found 
in large, round hummocks dotting the mud flat. These hummocks 
will gradually spread until the eel-grass is growing over the entire flat. 
The growing grass greatly retards the flow of the water as the tide rises © 
and flows and the deposition of the sediment will be hastened. The 
chemical analyses of this mud show it to be fairly rich in hme, abun- 
dant in potash and with an adequate supply of phosphoric acid. The 
7 per cent of organic matter will keep the clay soil in good tilth. The 
