Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-05-27
Peat rs Il Fertilizer.

AL II uuooI1uS uutleI IIlS aus pieces VI Vic
Rhode Island Society for the Encour-
agement of Domestic Industry, at Prov
idence, recently the subject for dis
cussion was j" Fertilizers"
Professor Chase made interesting
and instructive remarks ont this subject.
He spoke of the value of stable refuse
as fertilizer, and explained it's chem
ical changes while lying in compact
masses. He said when placed around
plants, the heat coming from it is more
beneficial in it's effects than he sup
| piled in any other way He then spoke
of the properties of peat as fertilizer,
though he said he doubted whether the
true moss peat was to be found IN this
country. Rich peat deposits on ones
farm, he said, are of great value. Owing
to the expense of obtaining fertilizers
when they are not to be found near
ones farm, he did not suppose that the
farmers in this country used them as
extensively as they are used in portions
of Europe. He said that he had seen
some very interesting experiments per-
formed for testing the value of ashes
and sand as fertilizers, and it was
shown that by adding nitrates to them
good crops could be obtained. They
contained enough potash and phos-
phorlc acid, but not enough nitrogen.
If ordinary ashes are exposed to very
great heat, sort of glass is formed,
and there may be potash III the ashes
of lime kiln, and If they are put on
the land it may gradually be separated
from the silica and do considerable good.
Mr.. James A. Budlong said that
there was muck bed on his farm, and
he had made use of some of the muck,
but his experience was sufficient to
convince him that if the time he had
expended in digging muck had been
used ID bringing fertilizers from Provi-
dence, he would have had better crops
where it was applied.
Mr.. Joseph S. Pitman, Secretary of
the Society, presented communication
from Elisha Dyer, Jr., containing an
extract from the Boston Journal of
Chemistry, attributing the potato rot
to deficiency of lime and magnesia,
To supply this deficiency Mr.. Dyer
recommended, IN the communication.
an admixture of one hundred pounds of
plaster or oyster-shell lime, with 10
pounds of crude carbonate of magnesia,
which should be spread over the land
literally, and ploughed in. It may also
be placed in the hills, with thepotatoes.
A capital fertilizer for potatoes is sui
phate of lime, with one per cent. of
ammonia.
After the reading of the communica-
ton the discussion was resumed by Mr..
Jonathan Angel, of Providence. He
said that he believed that muck is a
very valuable fertilizer, and he should
advise person who was going to pur-
chase farm, to get one with muck de-
posts on it. He thought, however,
that mnck formed by decayed evergreen
leaves was not worth much as a fertili-
yer, while muck from hard wood is in
valuable.
MIR. VIM. 81. Hopkins spoke in favor
OF the use of muck and peat as fertiliz-
ers.
Mr: James Eldred, of Kingston, said
that he believed that peat swamps were
the very repositories of everything val
liable for the fertilization of farm. and
that as fertilizer it adds a permanent
value to the land.
Professor Chase said that the value
VI NUN uoPo1iuOo t SoOu ueal upon
the substances of which it is formed.
Peat and muck do muchstowards perma-
nently benefting soil upon which they
are used. If you can put vegetable
matter into the soil and give it body,
and supply material for creating car.
bonic acid, you have greatly improved
that soil, and peat and muck will pro
duce the results. He said that he be-
lieved that the cause of the failures il
fruit-growing was owing to the fact thai
the soil is losing much of it's decayeG
vegetable matter, and when that is ex
hausted, fruit will cease to flourish.
large portion of the fertilizers in ths
market, he said, are not worth more
than half what they are sold for.
Facts for the Household.
n