204 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
June. 
outset, our farmers escape one great difficulty with which 
those of Scotland are obliged to contend. We have to 
do with a mass of rich vegetable material easily con¬ 
vertible into manure - r they with the same material as to 
its ultimate composition, hut in a present form which if 
once dry, bids almost entire defiance to the ordinary 
action of the elements. Their most advantageous 
method of forming a soil upon the surface of a peat bog, 
is in many cases to burn by successive parings to a depth 
of one, two, or three feet, and to mix the ashes thus 
formed with clay or earth brought up from under the 
remaining peat. Such processes, and in fact all process¬ 
es for forming what must be for the first few years an 
almost wholly artificial soil, are always expensive and 
tedious. It is therefore fortunate for us, that our farm¬ 
ers in reclaiming their swamps are not, in a great ma¬ 
jority of instances at least, obliged to have recourse to 
them. As soon as our swamps are drained, natural in¬ 
fluences commence their work upon the surface, and 
alter it in such a manner as soon to form a soil, capable 
of bearing valuable crops. 
But there are other points touched upon in this report, 
that have their importance for the American farmer. 
The first of these to which I would at present call at¬ 
tention, is relative to the absorbent properties of peat- 
char coal, or as perhaps many farmers would term it, 
charcoal-peat . The preparation of this charcoal, and 
its uses in absorbing ammonia, have been always put 
forward as a prominent advantage connected with the 
various projects for reclaiming bogs by partial burning. 
It has been generally supposed that any form of charred 
vegetable matter possessed, in a considerable degree at 
least, the same powerful absorbent properties with regard 
to ammonia, which exist in wood charcoal. Dr. Ander¬ 
son’s experiments indicate that we have been deceived 
upon this point, and have greatly exaggerated the ab¬ 
sorbent powers of many substances. 
The peat charcoal acts, it seems, as a deodoriser, with¬ 
out acting powerfully as an absorbent. The general be¬ 
lief has been, that it would act in both ways with almost 
equal effect ; hence its extensive use in mixing with 
night-soil, and all putrescent and offensive manures. 
Poudrettes have been very largely prepared in Europe, 
by mixing with this material. The fact of its success¬ 
fully removing all perceptible smell from most offensive 
mixtures, has been considered a sufficient proof that all 
of the ammonia, and other valuable escaping products, 
had been arrested and permanently preserved. 
So fixed has been this impression in the public mind, 
that patents have been taken out for the manufacture 
of peat-charcoal, and for its employment as a manure 
in the form of various mixtures. We read accounts of 
public meetings, where samples of night-soil deprived of 
smell by means of this charcoal, were exhibited as un¬ 
doubted evidence of its immense value in directly in¬ 
creasing the ability of the farmer to fertilize his land, 
by means of cheap and at the same time concentrated 
manures. 
It is scarcely necessary to say that this charcoal, or 
any charcoal, cannot in itself hold a high rank as a 
manure. They all chiefly consist of carbon, hydrogen, 
and oxgyen, the first being by far the larger constitutent, 
and their value is less as an actual manure than an equal 
bulk of any common vegetable substance, on account of 
their comparatively undecomposible nature. The chief 
importance then of peat-charcoal, as Dr. Anderson ob¬ 
serves, is clearly owing to the absorbent powers which 
it is supposed to possess. 
Upon this point he gives us the results of some very 
careful examinations. 
He first tried filtering a liquid containing a small known 
proportion of ammonia, through a deep layer of peat 
charcoal - the liquid passed out at the bottom with the 
smell of ammonia perfectly distinct. On passing putrid 
urine, having a distinct ammoniacal reaction, through a 
similar layer, the liquid came out colorless, and deprived 
of smell, but still distinctly ammoniacal. This proved 
that the absorbent powers of the peat ehareoal were not 
very rapid in their action. He went still farther how¬ 
ever, and allowed various ammoniacal solutions con¬ 
taining known quantities of ammonia, to remain in con¬ 
tact with peat charcoal for some days, under favorable 
circumstances for absorption. The largest proportion 
which he found to have been absorbed, amounted to but 
about the tenth of one per cent. A like experiment 
with putrid urine, afforded even a still more unfavorable 
result. Seven or eight trials of this kind, served in the 
words of Dr. Anderson, to show — u that the absorbtive 
power of peat charcoal for ammonia, is so small as to be 
practically of no importance, and its use for this pur¬ 
pose cannot be recommended to the farmer.” These are 
somewhat unexpected results, and probably bear on 
other varieties of charcoal; indeed I am led to doubt 
whether wood-charcoal, for practical purposes on a large 
scale, would exert more than a small part of that ex¬ 
traordinary absorbing power for ammonia, that is shown 
in the laboratory in a small way by carefully prepared 
samples. As a deodoriser, it is powerful, but from the 
character of these trials, I should desire farther experi¬ 
ments before advising the farmer to rely upon it entirely 
as an absorbent. 
Examinations of poudrettes, made by mixing peat 
charcoal with night-soil, showed that little ammonia had 
been retained, and that their value as manures was not 
very great. In fact it would have been at least equally 
advantageous, to have mixed the night-soil with any sam¬ 
ple of porous earth, inasmuch as Prof. Way has shown 
that all soils possess the power of absorbing quite appre¬ 
ciable quantities of ammonia. The conclusion arrived at 
is, £ £ that a ton of the night-soil would be much more valu¬ 
able, and also greatly cheaper, than a ton of the mixture.” 
Another important branch of this subject was investi¬ 
gated by Dr. Anderson, and it is one which has a still 
more practical bearing on the operations of the Ameri¬ 
can farmer. He was led to try some experiments upon 
the power of the peat itself in absorbing ammonia. It is, 
as all know, a highly porous substance, and might be 
expected to retain something from liquids brought in 
contact with it, but the actual result surpassed all ex¬ 
pectation. 
A weighed portion of peat, dried at 212°, was employ¬ 
ed ; to this a small quantity of a solution containing a 
known per eentage of ammonia was added. The fluid 
was of course instantly absorbed, and at the same time 
the smell of ammonia disappeared, as well as all traces 
of alkaline reaction.. ££ The ammoniacal solution was 
