THE CULTIVATOR 
125 
down, as some other breeds. Their color is of a shi¬ 
ning black, or a deep glossy changeable purple, with a 
large white top-knot of feathers, covering so much of 
their head as almost to blind their eyes, and often require 
clipping. The contrast of this perfectly white crown, 
with the black plumage is truly beautiful, but that of the 
cock differs from the hen; hers being broad and erect 
feathers, while his are narrow and hanging down in ev¬ 
ery direction.” We have seen a few instances, in which 
a small tuft of brilliant red feathers existed in the cen¬ 
ter of the white knot, almost realizing the appearance of 
a splendid flower. 
PEAT AS A MANURE. 
We are inclined to the opinion that one of the great¬ 
est discoveries of the age in favor of agriculture, so far 
as manures are concerned, is the facility with which that 
hitherto inert or valueless substance, peat, can be con¬ 
verted into an efficient manure. Swamp muck may very 
properly be classed with peat in this respect, although 
muck is more easily available as a manure than peat, and 
has consequently received more attention. Peat is a col¬ 
lection of vegetable matter, containing the elements of 
the greatest fertility, but usually combined with so much 
tannic acid as to preserve the materials from further de¬ 
composition. Examination shows that it is generally 
composed of coarse bog moss and grasses, such as the 
Splachnums, Equisetums and Carexes, and the gradual 
accumulation of these form masses from a few inches 
to several feet in thickness. Continual submersion in 
water, seems necessary to- the growth of peat, or the 
moss must at least be constantly saturated. Swamp muck 
is usually a deposite; peat is the result of growth on the 
spot. Peat, when fresh dug-, contains from 70 to 90 per 
cent, of water. When drained as dry as it will in favor¬ 
able situations, “ it will contain about two-thirds its 
weight of water, and a cord of peat when first dug, be¬ 
comes one-fourth to one-third of a cord when dry.”— 
(Dr. Dana.) 
Formerly the mode of preparing peat for manure, was 
by drying and burning it. Large quantities are still so 
prepared in Flanders, and the celebrated Dutch ashes, 
the use of which produces such crops of clover, is no¬ 
thing more than peat ashes. According to Professor 
Johnston these ashes are composed of— 
Silecious earth,. 32 parts. 
Sulphate of lime, (gypsum,) .... 12 
Sulphate and muriate of soda or 
glauber and common salt, .... 6 
Carbonate of lime,.40 
Oxyde of iron,. 3 
Loss, .. 7 
100 
The earths, carbonates, &c. vary very considerably, 
according to the nature of the substratum, but the quan¬ 
tity of gypsum shown to exist, is sufficient to account for 
the efficiency of these ashes on clover, as a source of 
general fertility. Some peat bogs are entirely barren, 
or according to Professor Johnston, are composed of in¬ 
ert vegetable matter, or according to Dr. Dana, of inso¬ 
luble humus or geine. There ai-e other peat bogs mo¬ 
derately fertile, and in these the vegetable matter is un¬ 
dergoing decomposition, or conversion from insoluble 
to soluble matter. Experience has proved that it is im¬ 
possible to render peat fertile, or convert it into a soil 
fit for cultivation, without first draining it thoroughly, or 
covering it with earth. Some process must be resorted to 
to effect decomposition; the insoluble must be rendered 
soluble; the acids must be neutralized; and the mass un¬ 
dergo aeration to a greater or less degree, before any 
favorable results can be expected. These things are in¬ 
dispensable, whether the peat remains in its original 
place, or is removed: the first takes place when a peat 
bog or moss is rendered fertile; the latter when it is 
converted into manure. 
It is to agricultural chemistry that we are indebted for 
a knowledge of the causes that rendered a substance so rich 
in the elements of fertility as peat was known to be, of no 
value, and also the method of removing the evil. The 
discovery that the fault lay in an acid, showed that an 
alkali would be the corrective; and acting on this prin¬ 
ciple, the change of peat or swamp muck from an inert 
substance, to one of the most convenient and active of 
the fertilizers, has become as easy as it is common. 
Manure, an ample and abundant supply of manure, is the 
grand desideratum in agriculture. All around us were 
vast masses of what should be manure, but which was 
by its constitution effectually locked up from the farmer : s 
use. Chemistry has thrown him the key which unlocks 
the treasure, and already is the gift beginning to be pro¬ 
perly understood and appreciated. It is probable that in 
this country peat will be more used for manure than for 
fuel, the use to which, in some parts of Europe, it is 
now mainly applied. The only question now is, as to 
the easiest and cheapest way in which peat and swamp- 
muck can be converted into manure. How shall the 
farmer give to peat the active decomposition necessary 
to generate ammonia, and thus change it into a substance 
not widely different from animal manure ? The answer 
is ready, apply an alkali. The way in which this is best 
and most easily done, is to make the peat into a compost, 
either by mixing it with green dung in the compost 
heap, in which case one cord of fresh stable manure will 
convert two cords of peat or muck into manure as valua¬ 
ble as a fertilizer as the stable manure used alone; or by 
covering the cattle or hog-yards to the depth of from 
eight to twelve inches, according to the probable quan¬ 
tity of manure that will be dropped upon it, with fresh 
peat or muck. This latter has one essential advantage 
over the former method, as by it the liquid manures, 
which are mostly lost in the ordinary way of making ma¬ 
nures, is in a great measure saved for use. The alkalic 
salts in these animal manures, completely neutralize the 
acids which rendered the peat ineffective; they convert 
the insoluble into soluble geine or humus; and by their 
combination or absorption in the mass of vegetable mat¬ 
ter, are retained for the use and benefit of plants. Peat 
is an important ingredient in the preparation of poudrette, 
and is far preferable for that purpose to the common mould 
which is sometimes used. In the preparation and use of 
peat as a manure, the farmers of Massachusetts, (and it 
should be recorded to their honor,) are much ahead of 
those in any other section of our country. This manure 
has already been the means of giving fertility to 
large tracts of land, hitherto worth very little; and has 
given a value to the peat and muck lands which they did 
not before possess. Used in connection with leached 
ashes, it is found that peat, or swamp muck, are invalua¬ 
ble, and the practice of selling off all the ashes made on 
the farm is there fast becoming obselete, as it should 
every where else. Every farmer needs more manure. 
Almost every one can have a supply of peat or swamp 
muck for his yards or his compost heap. Let them try 
the experiment of converting this into manure, and 
we doubt not the result will be most satisfactory. 
AN AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. 
Below we give from the “ Book of the Farm,” the 
plan of an Agricultural School or Farm,which strikes us 
as very simple in its mode of operation, and calculated 
to produce the good results which may reasonably ex¬ 
pected from such institutions. There are farmers in this 
state possessed of ample means to carry into effect a 
school of this kind, contemplated by Mr. Stephens, and 
it is to be wished they would ask themselves whether 
they could confer a greater benefit on the country, or 
more effectually promote their own interests, than by es¬ 
tablishing an institution of the kind: 
“ To afford all the requisite information to the pupil 
in the highest perfection, and to assist the farmer in af¬ 
fording it to him in the easiest manner, I propose the 
following plan of tuition for adoption, where circumstan¬ 
ces will permit it to be established. The more minute¬ 
ly its details are explained, the better will it be under¬ 
stood by those who may wish to form such establish¬ 
ments. 
“ Let a farmer of good natural abilities, of firm cha¬ 
racter, fair education, and pleasant manners, leasing a 
farm of not less than five hundred acres, and pursuing 
the mixed system of husbandry, occupy a house of such 
a size as would afford accommodation to from ten to 
twenty pupils. The farm should contain different varie¬ 
ties and conditions of soil,—be well fenced,—well wa¬ 
tered,—and not at an inconvenient distance from a town. 
“ With regard to the internal arrangements of the house, 
double-bedded rooms would form suitable enough sleep¬ 
ing apartments. Besides a dining-room and drawing¬ 
room, for daily use, there should be a large room, fitted 
up with a library, containing books affording sound in¬ 
formation on all agricultural subjects, in various lan¬ 
guages; forming at one time a lecture-room for the de¬ 
livery of lectures on the elementary principles of those 
sciences which have a more immediate reference to ag¬ 
riculture, and at another a reading or writing room or 
parlor for conversations on farming subjects. There 
should be fixed, at suitable places, a barometer, a sym- 
piesometer, thermometers, one of which should mark 
the lowest degree of temperature in the night, a rain- 
guage, an anemometer, and a weathercock. No very use¬ 
ful information, in my opinion, can be derived by the 
farmer, from a bare register of the heights and depths of 
the barometer and thermometer. A more useful regis¬ 
ter for him would be that of the directions of the wind, 
accompanied with remarks on the state of the weather, 
the heat of the air as indicated by the feelings, and the 
character of the clouds as expressed by the most approv¬ 
ed nomenclature. The dates of the commencement and 
termination of every leading operation on the farm 
should be noted down, and appropriate remarks on the 
state of the weather during its performance recorded. 
A small chemical laboratory would be useful in afford¬ 
ing the means of analyzing substances whose component 
parts were not well known. Microscopes would be 
useful in observing the structure of plants and insects, 
for the better understanding of their respective functions. 
“ The slaughter-house required for the preparation of 
the meat used by the family should be fitted up to afford 
facilities for dissecting those animals which have been 
affected by peculiar disease. Skeletons and preparations 
for illustrating comparative anatomy could thus be form¬ 
ed with little trouble. A roomy dairy should be fitted 
up for performing experiments on the productive pro¬ 
perties of milk in all its various states. A portion of 
the farm-offices should be fitted up with apparatus for 
making experiments on the nutritive properties of dif¬ 
ferent kinds and quantities of food, and the fattening 
properties of different kinds of animals. A steelyard, 
for easily ascertaining the live-weight of animals, is a 
requisite instrument. The bakery, which supplies the 
household bread, would be a proper place for trying the 
relative panary properties of different kinds of flour and 
meal. Besides these, apparatus for conducting experi¬ 
ments on other subjects as they were suggested, could be 
obtained when required. 
(C Another person beside the farmer willbe required to 
put all this apparatus into use. He should be a man of 
science, engaged for the express purpose of showing the 
relation betwixt science and agriculture. There would 
be no difficulty of obtaining- a man of science, quite com¬ 
petent to explain natural phenomena on scientific princi¬ 
ples. For that purpose, he would require to have a fa¬ 
miliar acquaintance with the following sciences:—with 
meteorology and electricity, in order to explain atmos¬ 
pherical phenomena, upon the mutations of which all 
the operations of farming are so dependent:—with hy¬ 
drostatics and hydraulics, to explain the action of streams 
and of damned-up water on embankments, to suggest 
plans for the recovery of land from rivers and the sea, 
and to indicate the states of the weather which increase 
or diminish the statical power of the sap in vegetables: 
—with botany and vegetable physiology, to show the re¬ 
lations between the natural plants and the soils on which 
they grow, with a view to establish a closer affinity be- 
tweenthe artificial state of the soil and the perfect growth 
of cultivated plants; to exhibit the structure of the differ¬ 
ent orders of cultivated plants; and to explain the nature 
and uses of the healthy, and the injurious effects of the 
diseased secretions of plants:—with geology, to explain 
the nature, and describe the structure, of the superficial 
crust of the earth, in reference to draining the soil; to 
show the effects of subsoils on the growth of trees; to 
explain the effects of damp subsoils, on trees, and of 
the variations of the surface of the ground, on climate: 
with mechanics, to explain the principles which regulate 
the action of all machines; and which acquirement previ¬ 
ously implies a pretty familiar acquaintance with the 
mathematics:—with chemistry, to explain the nature of 
the composition of, and changes in, mineral, vegetable, 
and animal substances :—with anatomy and animal physi¬ 
ology, to explain the structure and functions of the ani¬ 
mal economy, with a view to the prevention of disease, 
incidental to the usual treatment of animals, and to par¬ 
ticular localities. All young men, educated for what 
are usually termed the learned professions,—theolo¬ 
gy, law, and medicine,—are made acquainted with 
these sciences, and a young man from either faculty 
would be competent to take charge of such an establish¬ 
ment. Of the three I would give preference to the me¬ 
dical man, as possessing professionally a more intimate 
knowledge of chemistry, and animal and vegetable phy¬ 
siology, than the others. But the most learned graduate 
of either profession, will display his scientific acquire¬ 
ments to little advantage in teaching pupils in agricul¬ 
ture, unless he has the judgment to select those parts of 
the various sciences, whose principles can most satisfac¬ 
torily explain the operations of agriculture. Ere he can 
do this successfully, he would, I apprehend, require to 
know agriculture practically, by a previous residence of 
at least two years on a farm. Without such a prepara¬ 
tion, he would never become a useful teacher of agricul¬ 
tural pupils. 
“ On the supposition that he is so qualified, his duty 
is to take the direct charge of the pupils. His chief bu¬ 
siness should be to give demonstrations and explanations 
of all the phenomena occurring during operations in the 
farm field. The more popular demonstrations on bota¬ 
ny, animal and vegetable physiology, and geoloy, as also 
on meteorology, optics, and astronomy, whenever phe¬ 
nomena occur which would call forth the application of 
the principles of any of those sciences, would be best 
conducted in the fields. In the library, short lectures on 
the elementary principles of science could be regularly de¬ 
livered,—conversations on scientific and practical subjects 
conducted,—and portions of the most approved authors 
on agriculture, new and old, read. These latter subjects 
could be most closely prosecuted when bad weather in¬ 
terrupted field labor. In the laboratory, slaughter-house, 
farm-stead, and dairy, he could command the attendance 
of the pupils, when any subject in those departments 
were to be explained. 
“ The duty of the farmer himself, the governor or 
head of the establishment, is to enforce proper disci¬ 
pline among the pupils, both within and without doors. 
He should teach them practically how to perform every 
species of work, explain the nature and object of every 
operation performing, and foretel the purport of every 
operation about to be performed. For these important 
purposes he should remain at home as much as is prac¬ 
ticable with his avocations abroad. 
“ The duties of the pupils are easily defined. They 
should be ready at all times to hear instruction, whether 
in science or practice, within or without doors. Those 
pupils who wish to study practice more than science, 
should not be constrained to act against their inclinations, 
as science possesses little allurement to some minds; and 
it should be borne in mind by the tutors, that practical 
farming is what the pupils have chiefly come to learn, 
and that practice may prove successful in after life with¬ 
out the assistance of science, whereas science can never 
be applied without practice. 
“ The duty common to all, is the mutual conducting of 
experiments, both in the fields and garden; for which 
purpose, both should be of ample dimensions. All new 
varieties of plants might be first tried in the garden, un¬ 
til their quantity warranted the more profuse and less 
exact, though more satisfactory, culture of the field. On 
ridges in the fallow field, with different kinds and quan¬ 
tities of manure, and different modes of wmrking the 
soil and sowing the seeds, experiments should be con¬ 
tinually making with new and old kinds of grains, roots, 
tubers, bulbs, and herbaceous plants. In the course of 
time, the sorts best suited to the locality will show them¬ 
selves, and should be retained, and the worthless aban¬ 
doned. In like manner, experiments should be made in 
