258 
agency upon water, or to its mechanical effects. 
It is a substance very absorbent and retentive of 
moisture, and yet not penetrable by the roots of 
plants. 
Inert peaty matter is a substance of the same 
kind. It remains for years exposed to water and 
air without undergoing change ; and in this state 
yields little or no nourishment to plants. 
Woody fibre will not ferment unless some sub- 
stances are mixed with it which act the same part 
as the mucilage, sugar, and extractive or albumi- 
nous matters, with which it is usually associated in 
herbs and succulent vegetables. Lord Meadow- 
bank has judiciously recommended a mixture of 
common farm-yard dung for the purpose of bring- 
ing peats into fermentation ; any putrescible or 
fermentable substance will answer the end ; and the 
more a substance heats, and the more readily it 
ferments, the better will it be fitted for the purpose. 
Lord Meadowbank states, that one part of dung 
is sufficient to bring three or four parts of peat 
into a state in which it is fitted to be applied to 
land; but of course the quantity must vary ac- 
cording to the nature of the dung and of the peat. 
In cases in which some living vegetables are mixed 
with the peat, the fermentation will be more readily 
effected. 
Tanners’ spent bark, shavings of wood and saw- 
dust, will probably require as much dung to bring 
them into fermentation as the worst kind of peat. 
Woody fibre may be likewise prepared so as to 
become a manure by the action of lime. This 
