Swamp Muck; Its Value and Handling 
W EATHER CONDITIONS.—The past Winter 
has been an unusually favorable one in some 
ways for getting out muck under our conditions. 
There was practically no rain here for months, and 
the accumulation of snow protected the surface of 
the swamp from freezing, so that the disadvantage 
of having so much snow to shovel back was offset by 
having much less water to handle and haul, as well 
as saving the hard labor of breaking up the deeply 
frozen crust which usually forms when snowfall is 
light. The removal of the snow covering is a small 
matter compared to these advantages, especially 
where the deposit of muck is fairly deep. Handling 
wet muck is heavy work, and partially owing to this 
fact the large deposits of this valuable material are 
fessor, and even then he might fail to get all of 
them: but a few of them would be increased ability 
of the soil to hold moisture, a very present help in 
time of drought; warmer soil; heavier soil is not 
only easier to work, but allows air to enter more 
freely, which is so necessary to crops and soil organ¬ 
isms, also the action of organic matter in loosening 
up elements of plant food in the soil. In short, it 
makes a better and more congenial home for the 
plant and makes it easier for it to get. a living. 
A ALUE OF SMALL DEPOSITS.—Do not think 
that because a deposit of muck is only 10 or 12 inches 
deep, or covers but a small area, it is not worth 
bothering with. The value of a deposit does not 
depend on its depth entirely, but more so upon its 
digging for life, for even a little 12-incli deposit 
runs up over 1,200 loads per acre. Now place what¬ 
ever value on it you please, and it makes figures that 
would tickle the city editors of some of the so-called 
agricultural papers. If some people had to pay 
taxes on the actual value of this neglected property 
lying in their swamps they would either have to dig 
in or "dig out." After one has been fighting for 
years trying to make good his predecessors’ over¬ 
drawn account in Mother Nature’s bank he appre¬ 
ciates the value of anything in the shape of organic 
matter, or at least he ought to, and when the appli¬ 
cation of a load of this muck to 10 or 15 apple trees, 
also struggling along on poor land, will give them 
profitable bearing surface several years sooner, then 
Ihuiipiny Mini: <m rile While Unable In Use Team. Fiy. 37 
Loaded Carrier in One of the Pockets. Fiy. 30 
liable to remain in storage for future generations, 
and they will be needed badly enough at the present 
rate of soil depletion. 
ORGANIC MATTER NEEDED.—Shortage of or¬ 
ganic matter is one of the most serious soil problems 
confronting us on these hills, and it may be needless 
to say that there are others in the same boat. There 
is no question about the great value of muck under 
such conditions, and the time will come when ttie 
swamp land, now looked upon as a detriment to the 
value of a farm. will, if there is a deposit of muck 
that can be worked to advantage, even though only 
12 or 15 inches deep, make that land the most 
valuable on the farm in many a case. It matters 
not, if analysis shows but little immediately avail¬ 
able plant food in a sample of mock: if it has busi¬ 
ness in if. which it certainly has. The real test or 
accessibility. A surprise is in store for many a man 
as to the value of what he has lying down in the 
swamp waiting for him or the next fellow. Our own 
experience has been with small pockets of muck, 
generally quite shallow. Our deepest pocket is aboul 
4 feet deep, but owing to difficulty with water break¬ 
ing through a large part of it cannot be secured 
without purchasing a pump of large capacity; but 
the deposits of 12 to IS inches have been more easily 
worked. These have generally been small open 
spaces, where there were no large trees to bother, 
generally the result of the muck having been too 
deep to. allow them to grow, or where the raising or 
deepening of the muck deposit in past years killed 
off the trees that had been there; and in such cases, 
especially where the water level had been high 
enough, one still finds the old roots there pretty 
the value of a load of muck placed at $1 above cost 
of handling is reasonable indeed. For ordinary farm 
crops it has business in it, too. 
IIAI LING AND SPREADING.—Methods of get¬ 
ting out muck will depend on conditions in each case. 
Where there is a hard bottom underneath the de¬ 
posit we open a road and load the muck directly 
upon wagon or bob sleigh, but it is usually necessary 
to use brush, old rails, small logs or stones in soft 
places. A road of brush covered with small tield 
stone makes a good permanent road. This Winter 
we have used a cable and carrier, a rough, home¬ 
made affair, for getting at small pockets off the road 
where we could not drive in to advantage, and this 
\Vorked very well, but a chain hoist carrier would 
be far better. Where surface of swamp freezes over 
sufficiently to bear wagon one can drive directly to 
Damping Muc 4 5 oi. bled. fiiy. 38 Muck Piles in Orchard. Fiy. .'/0 
value does not depend on how much plant food we 
can get out of it, on the jump. The plant food is 
there all right, and the rapidity with which, we can 
use it, or get rid of it. depends on the kind and con¬ 
dition of the material of which the deposit was 
formed, and on methods of treating or handling it. 
But even though the plant food in a deposit of muck 
were in such condition that it would become avail¬ 
able so slowly that it would take years to realize on 
that end of it. the immediate benefit to the soil and 
crop in other ways is sufficient to make it profitable 
to get out the muck, where conditions are at all 
favorable. To enumerate all these advantages would 
require the services of an agricultural college pro¬ 
sound. It is this feature which soon discourages 
attempts to use labor-saving machinery. However, 
we hare learned to appreciate even a small oocket, 
for r uttle open space 20 feet wide and 50 feet long, 
if muck is only 12 or 14 inches deep on an average, 
gives us 30 or good two-horse loads, as heavy as 
one cares to haul under ordinary conditions. 
ACCLoKIBI E SUPPLIES.—To many who have 
large areas of muck, easily accessible, deep and rich, 
these little pockets of ours will seem as raising 
wheat in a garden would to the big wheat grower; 
but "n-aiix a mickle makes a muckle.” and if one has 
pockets enough he has muck enough, and it will not 
take many acres to keep an ordinary man busy 
the muck, but a covering of snow allowing the use 
of the bob sleigh is a great advantage, being easier 
to load; also the runners do not cut through as easily 
as the wheels. Wet muck is not easy to spread; 
besides, the surface is usually a sod of swamp plants 
and roots or a frozen crust. This is cut loose first 
with mattock, and is then easily handled. We 
usually drop off in piles as hauled during the Win¬ 
ter. and when it thaws and dries out in the Spring 
it spreads easily. Besides this, a smaller amount of 
manure is required for inoculation, if desired, for a 
forkful or two of manure placed on top of each pile 
takes much less than after it is spread. 
MUCK ON ORCHARD.—The picture, Fig. 40, 
