1910. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
28 
THE USE OF SWAMP MUCK. 
Part II. 
Another thing which Dr. Johnson 
proved is the power of swamp muck “to 
modify the decay of organic matters.” 
This muck in its native bed or the water 
contained in it has great preservative 
power. Many of us have found logs or 
pieces of wood fully preserved after ly¬ 
ing for years in a swamp. Fishes or 
animals have also been found in fair 
condition. When buried in the swamp 
itself animal matter decays very slowly 
if at all. When muck is taken from the 
swamp and dried it docs not preserve 
such matter in the same way. Let a fish 
or animal be buried in the dry muck 
and it will decay slowly but the muck 
absorbs the odors. As many of us know, 
charcoal will prevent the rotting of a 
piece of flesh packed in it. Pack the 
dead body of a rat or cat in charcoal 
and it does not putrefy. It wastes away 
to the bones, but instead of a carrion 
odor it gives off ammonia. Muck acts in 
much the same way, and absorbs and 
holds ammonia. Also, since the muck 
absorbs much water, it maintains a lower 
temperature and keeps the soil cooler. 
When stable manure, fish, blood or other 
organic manures are used in a soil am¬ 
monia is formed. If a supply of muck 
has been worked in this ammonia will 
be held. 
Dr. Johnson made another argument 
for the use of muck which will be un¬ 
derstood by gardeners. Light, dry soils 
are subject to great changes in temper¬ 
ature. They are hottest in Summer, and 
most likely to be caught by untimely 
frosts. When given a good coat of muck 
such soils become more uniform in tem¬ 
perature. It is not so warm on a hot 
day, because the water is constantly eva¬ 
porating from the muck, and this is a 
cooling process. At night the muck ab¬ 
sorbs water vapor from the air and con¬ 
serves it which means the evolution of 
heat. Tt is also true that dark-colored 
soils, if well drained, are warmest and 
thus early. In Europe gardeners often 
use soot to darken the soil and in¬ 
crease its warmth. In some of the Rhine 
vineyards the powder of a black slate 
rock is used to quicken ripening of 
grapes. There are numberless experi¬ 
ments which prove the value of muck or 
other dark substance in warming the 
soil by darkening its color. 
These and other arguments for the use 
of muck as an amendment for light soils 
were made 50 years ago. They are still 
sound—in fact long-continued experience 
has made them more convincing than 
ever. Dr. Johnson showed that while 
muck gave good results on light soils it 
might be a detriment to moist clays. 
I liese soils are too wet to begin with. 
Since one great object of the muck is to 
hold and retain more water, it may make 
the clays worse than ever. In some few 
cases the muck contains injurious proper¬ 
ties, or an excess of acid. These are 
mostly corrected by the use of lime. The 
plan of composting muck with lime im¬ 
proves the quality, but means much ex¬ 
tra work. It can be hauled right from 
the swamp in Fall or Winter and spread 
over the land to be plowed under in 
Spring. For use as absorbent it should 
be dug out in Summer and left in piles 
to dry. 
We believe there is soon to be a great 
revival of interest in the use of muck. 
The arguments made by Dr. Johnson 
are still sound—in fact more appropriate 
now than they were 50 years ago. There 
is now greater need that the light. East¬ 
ern lands should be cultivated. Plant 
food is higher and there is probably less 
organic matter in such soils. The un¬ 
used and often unvalued swamps can be 
made to give the rest of the farm re¬ 
newed life. We would not advise farm¬ 
ers to pay great attention to the actual 
plant food in the muck. While there is 
considerable of this, it will most likely 
prove disappointing unless we consider 
the amending power of the muck as out¬ 
lined by Dr. Johnson. It is well worth 
using for that purpose alone. As an ab¬ 
sorbent it has few if any superiors. Used 
in the stable or in the manure piles it 
will change a waste into a fertilizer fac¬ 
tory. 
WIRE BASKETS FOR TESTING SOIL. 
On the first page is an excellent article 
on testing soils. You will quickly see 
the theory of this. We take fair sam¬ 
ples of the soil in little pots or baskets— 
adding to each potful the needed quantity 
of chemicals or other material to give 
results in farm practice. We advise our 
readers who wish to try this method to 
obtain the bulletin referred to. This 
will give full particulars about the wire 
baskets and filling them. 
Briefly stated the little baskets are 
made out of galvanized wire netting 
with *4-inch mesh. The wire netting 
is cut into strips 10 inches long and 3/ 2 
inches wide. The ends are brought to¬ 
gether and fastened with rivets. This 
makes a cylinder of wire '3/ inches long. 
Cuts half an inch long are made at one 
end, so as to turn the edge in, and thus 
hold the bottom, which is a circular 
piece of the same netting cut large 
enough to fill the cylinder. The top of 
the basket is dipped about one inch deep 
in hot paraffin until a rim is formed 
around it. 
In order to carry out the experiment 
you will need the wire netting, some par¬ 
affin and a pair of scales which will 
weigh ounce accurately. The follow¬ 
ing instructions regarding the selection 
of soil and mixing the fertilizers are 
given by Prof. Whitney. 
The soil (o he tested should he repre- 
sentafive of (he field from which It is taken. 
A representative sample is usually secured 
hy taking a number of small samples from 
different parts of the field and thoroughly 
mixing them together. From this mixture 
(he portions that are to he treated with 
fertilizers are taken, the number of portions 
required being one greater than the num¬ 
ber of kinds of treatment, it is desired to 
test. 
The quantity of fertilizer added should 
correspond closely to tlie quantity commonly 
used in field practice. To add these fer¬ 
tilizers in the proper proportions to the 
samples (o l>e tested the following procedure 
is suggested: To 7% pounds of dry, well- 
pulverized soil add one ounce of the de¬ 
sired fertilizer. Mix very thoroughly and 
pass through a sieve at least twice. This 
mixture is still much too strong for use, 
and is further diluted hy adding one ounce 
of it to live pounds more of soil, mixing 
thoroughly, as before. This new mixture 
contains fertilizer at the rate of 200 pounds 
per acre. When larger applications are de¬ 
sired, proportionally larger quantities of the 
first mixture should he taken. For the lime 
treatment use only 11 y, ounces of soil fo 
one of lime instead of 7% pounds, as in 
the case of fertilizers. Cow-pea vines and 
manure, being used in even greater quantity 
than tlie lime, require a still further re¬ 
duction of the amount of soil in the first 
mixture, i. e„ four ounces of soil to one of 
cow-pea vines and 1 y, ounces of soil to one 
of manure. One ounce of each of these 
mixtures when added to five pounds of soil 
will supply lime at the rate of one ton. 
cow-pea vines five tons, and manure 10 
tons per acre. 
Lime From Acetylene Plant. 
I have a large apple orchard, and am 
trying to take the best of care of the 
same, in the way of pruning, spraying, fer¬ 
tilizing, etc. We are using an acetylene 
gas machine for light purposes in farm 
buildings. Will it be advisable to use 
the refuse from this machine for fertil¬ 
izing apple trees? I find it makes a very 
good fertilizer for grass. a. e. d. 
Mt. Kisco, N. Y. 
This refuse is largely lime. There is 
little else of fertilizing value in it. The re¬ 
sults on your grass indicate that your 
soil needs lime, and it will pay you to 
use more of it. 
Value of Coal Ashes. 
Coal ashes have always been something 
of a puzzle to me, as with (J. S. I’, (page 
1002). Analysis shows (tint they have 
little value as plant food, and yet at fimes 
there are results from them that puzzle 
one. Years ago in cleaning up a large 
accumulation of coal ashes, I had them 
hauled and spread on a pasture lot, arguing 
that they would probably do no harm if 
no good. The growth of White clover as 
far as those ashes went was something 
wonderful, as compared with the land 
around. It was a compact and moist clay 
soil, and I suppose the absorption of mois¬ 
ture favored the clover. On another occa¬ 
sion I had a pile of coal ashes in an 
out-of-the-way place that had been left 
there for more than a year. In the Spring, 
by some means, a tomato seed got. there, 
and a plant grew on top of that ash heap 
over three feet high. It: was left alone 
and no attention paid to it. But that 
tomato plant with only three feet of coal 
ashes under it gave me more tomatoes than 
any one plant in my garden. I would like 
to have an analysis of coal ashes that 
have been left in the weather for a year or 
more, for it does seem, that they have 
some power of absorbing some plant food 
and in a manner seem to decay. As a 
mulch under gooseberry and currant bushes 
I have found coal ashes very useful. 
w. p. MASSEY. 
When you write advertisers mention Tiie 
H. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee page 12. 
The Use of Commercial 
Fertilizers. 
Commercial fertilizers are coming 
into more general use every day. That 
they are difficult to sow is well known 
to all users. The reason for this is that 
they vary as to consistency. Some of 
the fertilizers are bone dry, others 
lumpy and sticky. Then, too, commer¬ 
cial fertilizers are affected by atmos¬ 
pherical conditions, which make them 
hard to sow. The Superior Drill, made 
by The American Seeding-Machine Co., 
Incorporated, Springfield, Ohio, will suc¬ 
cessfully handle all known brands of 
commercial fertilizers no matter how 
difficult to sow. The Superior is guar¬ 
anteed to do the work and to do it right. 
Therefore the farmer runs no risk in 
purchasing a Superior. These Drills 
are made in a wide range of styles and 
sizes, and in addition to sowing all 
brands of commercial fertilizers, as well 
as granular lime, will sow every known 
grain and grass seed, from the tiniest 
grass to large bush lima beans without 
cracking the seed. The grain and fer¬ 
tilizer feeds are known to be positive 
force feeds. The mechanism is very 
simple and easily understood. The Su¬ 
perior is strong and will stand up under 
the most severe work. Write to the 
manufacturers for a copy of their Su¬ 
perior catalogue. Then go to your retail 
implement dealer, and insist on seeing 
the Superior Drill.— Adv. 
POTATOES PAY 
Make them pay by using tho machines that 
really do tlie work— 
CUT, PLANT, 
SPRAY, 
DIG and 
SORT 
There’s nothing in 
potato machinery 
up to 
ASP1NWALL EQUIPMENT 
Write for copy of our free book telling how 
to make money, growing potatoes. 
ASPINWALL MFG. CO. 
437 Sabin St., Jackson, Mich.,U.S.A. 
Pioneer Makers of Potato Machinery 
Water Supply ^ 
wherever you want It at low cost from 
stream, pond or spring, with the 
Foster High Duty Rams 
Your mon#y back If it fulls. That 1* our written guar- 
to you. Coats little, srlf-opor- 
repalrs. Write for price 
HOOK, containing bolpful 
Supply Suggestions. 
Powors Specialty Co. 
Bldg., Now York, N. Y. 
AfiNING/POTASH IN GERMANY 
Delivery Guaranteed 
Direct from the German Mines to Your Farm 
Some fertilizer manufacturers may tell you that they will 
sell you potash cheaper than we will. We are offering car¬ 
loads for cash direct from the German mines to the buyer 
at the lowest price ever quoted. If any one offers it to you for 
less than our price, before accepting his offer be sure that the 
manufacturer signs a contract with you absolutely guarantee¬ 
ing delivery of potash salts and not some 
substitute in the shape of such mixed 
POTASH PAYS 
goods as he may have on hand at the close of the season. 
You know how it has been in the past. If you are 
contracting for other fertilizers, be sure that the contract re¬ 
quires delivery of the potash at the same time with or before 
the delivery of the other goods. Do not accept the other 
goods until the potash is delivered. Do not depend on the 
assurance of the salesman. Write it in 
the contract. It will pay you to do so. 
GERMAN KALI WORKS 
For particulars and prices write to 
Continental Building, Baltimore 
