The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1876-09-08
INQUIRIES AND ANSWERS.
MUCK.

Will you give me through the Tribune the
best method OF getting muck out OF the swamp
and OF applying it to field crops? Also tell me
what time OF the year the work should be
done? would like to try muck as fertilizer
should it prove valuable we could enrich our
land very easily as we have II handy and an in-
exhaustible supply. How does muck compare
with barn yard manure?
PROSPECT LAKE, Mich. Ii. b. HULsE.
(There is wide difference in the qualities OF
muck as it is found in different places; but
swamp muck is not Of itself fertilizer; it con-
tains nothing which crops can feed upon-no
ingredient which will make corn, wheat, grass,
or potatoes, 1t is not then suitable to be APP
piled directly to soils as we apply barn yard
manure. At one time there was q great hue
and cry about muck; muck was in everybody g
mouth muck was popular, and many covered
fields with the raw, sour stuff, only to get their
enthusiasm cooled. A man ought to use what
good sense he may be possessed with, and IL
he does he will not dig wet, cold swamp muck
and apply 1t directly to his land, Many per-
sons think that because muck ia black it mus
be rich in the elements OF crops; but this is
found to be not true in practice.
But is muck then worthless in farming P
No, 1t is very valuable. bat only as an absorb
emit, It must be made part Of the compost !;
ID must be mingled with the manure OF the sta
bles and become cooked, as some farmers say !;
that is, the water and acids which it holds in its
fresh state must be got rid OF first, then 1t Is
ready to do duty as an absorbent OF nitrogen
in the soil or in the stables. and here lies its
chief value, il is supposed. In this respect 1t
is OF very great value.
IL may be dug at any season OF the year.
when it can be got at conveniently. 1t should
be hauled to the yard while fresh, because then
it does not crumble and is more easily handled.
1t should be stored under cover and kept dry.
1t will soon crumble into powder, and in this
.Io1 x.T.th NI.A
spread over stable floors each day, for when
dry the frost does not affect it. In this way
any farmer on 160 acres may use yearly 500
loads of muck and add largely to the yield OF
his fields There is no theory about this-it is
fact and you can, as you say, enrich your land
very easily by means OF muck. The longer 1t
has been exposed to the atmosphere the more
valuable 1t appears to be as an absorbent
Muck cannot be compared with barn yard
manure, for the latter is eminently an enrich
ing material while muck is not. Diet. Trib.
In relation to the use of swamp muck, the
undersigned desires to add his testimony to the
good resulting from its use when the proper
application is made to land on which crops are
to be grown. I had become impressed with
the idea that swamp muck possessed value as
fertilizer. 1t was found that in its raw state it
did not readily asslmilate, and in consequence,
its effects were very far from being satisfacto-
ry. To get it out and compost it was far too
expensive, although Its effects, after passing
through that process, was quite satisfactory
To haul ii out and store it under cover, and use
as a litter absorbent, involved an immense
amount OF labor, far more than would be ordi-
narily assigned to that purpose. None OF these
mr. ~ ha tod In tha
ments Of the ordinary farmer and consequent
ly were discarded. The next and most salts
factory experiment was to haul out the muck
in the fall, or at any time OF leisure for that
purpose, and dump 1t in the barn yard to the
thickness or depth OF from sixteen to twenty
four inches, and then cover it over with old
straw cornstocks, buckwheat straw, and in
fact, anything that happens to be lying loose
on the farm, and when the time arrives for ia
king up and feeding stock keep all animals in
GLIDING sheep, Oh 1t through the winter, The
muck will absorb all the liquids and be in read
ness for use IN the spring, and will show very
results on almost any crop to which
I may be applied. This method was found to
be quite inexpensive as the muck Is easily
handled IN the first instance.
/ will mention here that there lie very
marked difference in the quality and value Of
muck for the purposes OF fertilization. That
for the most part, of eaf mold and
deposits by the overfowing OF the land along
unning streams, seems to possess great value
That taken from the ordinary marsh possesses
tut little, by comparison, being Of a peaty ma
ure and requiring considerable time and the
lse OF alkalies to bring it into the proper con-
lition to be used with any beneficial results.
s. t. CONWAY,