•Q 
The terms peat and much are often used interchanges! f Peat 
is the partially carbonized organic residue produced by the laying 
down of successive generations of plants growing in standing water. 
This submerging of roots, trunhs of trees, twigs, seeds, shrubs, mosses, 
sedges and grasses prevents decay in a manner characteristic of 
tillable soils. The reduction of air acts as a preservative and pro* 
duces incomplete decomposition. 
Peat contains a large proportion of carbon of the original veg¬ 
etable matter. It is usually acid and contains a very small percentage 
of mineral matter; sometimes as low as four per cent. Much contains 
a high percentage of uncarbonized matter and represents a further 
stage of decay. Peats frequently are higher in nitrogen than mucks. 
The phosphorus and potash content of these materials is so 
low as to be negligible. When used for nutritive purposes the addi¬ 
tion of these two elements becomes necessary, the former in the 
shape of superphosphate and the latter as hardwood ashes, potassium 
sulphate, or potassium sulphate, or potassium chloride. Many com¬ 
plete fertilizers supply these ingredients in the needed proportions 
and their use is to be preferred to that of the separate materials. 
The acidity of peats makes them particularly desirable for 
many acid-loving plants, as azaleas, rhododendrons, and laurel. 
Many of our soils are alkaline, or the water applied may have an 
alkaline reaction. The use of acid peats helps to neutralize this 
effect. 
Sold commercially, peat comes as a soft brown-colored material, 
dried and easy to handle. 
The value of peats from the standpoint of their nutrient con¬ 
tent has been questioned by many authorities, but recent ejcperi- 
has led to the belief that the nitrogen contained is 
available through the action of cellulose decomposing 
bacteria. Since the bacteria causing its decomposition are found 
in manures, the addition of a small portion of stable manure is 
suggested. One part to twenty is a likely ratio. 
Let us consider various uses to whidh peat may 
be put in the garden. If you have had trouble in securing 
a stand of lawn grass, use peat. Sow the seed as usual, then place 
a mulch of one-half inch of peat over the seeding. Water well and 
keep moist for the first few days. Germination will start almost at 
once and in a short time the ground is covered with green, the peat 
disappearing under the mat that is rapidly formed. Peat may be 
used as a mulch in the spring, mijced with fine manure or with 
complete fertilizers. 
After seed is sown in rows or broadcast, both out of doors 
•and in bo^es in the home or the hotbed, the only overing which 
is needed will be peat. Being a sterile medium, of high 
water-holding capacity and free of weeds, this covering 
is superior to soil, no matter how light. The fact that bacteria and 
parasitic fungi are rarely present in peat reduces the danger from 
'“damping off" to a minimum. 
After plants have become established in their beds—be they 
roses, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, annuals or bulbs—a mulch of 
peat will be benificial as a conserver of moisture and (if placed 
deeply enough) as weed control. Such a mulch reduces the labor 
incident to garden operations, to a large degree. The brownish 
color of the peat furnishes a fitting background for the green of 
he plants. 
If 
mental J work 
quite readily 
