Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-08-07
MEADOW MUCK Foa ToP DRESS
ING.

ING.
or ~ NOT MANURE ruorGu or HAS ITS
rsEs. ruE AGRICULTURAL CHEMIST
of uALF A CENTURY AGO Sor Goop
AUTHORITY.
have q piece ofuplAnd In grass which
will nerd to,@lrcssing this fall. ! have
no baru manure but have plenty of
.mcAdo~ much" got by cleaning out
bitches. Can you suggest something In
the chemical line not too expensive
~hieh can mix with the muck and use
as a top drvssineS II.
Concord, Mass.
sssmp muck or the material of
swamps tskeu out AMI applet 20 mp
lands used To he considered by some
writer. vrrv valuable. know of one
public speaker snd agricultural writer
nov Who will get up In y public meet.
Ing of farmers sud affirm thst average
s~smp muck ss t-ken from sssars is
worth az much, l.sd for load, n good
st.bl. MANURE. 10 the statement Was
true our New England swamp lsnfs
would he worth FAR more Than the goid
fields ot California for the s~smpA sre
right herr st home. the muck u on the
surfsce. easily secur~i and the supply u.
practically inexhsastihI-.
h,,e never hesri that thi. adv"cste
90 muck hss taken snv steps to secure
any great qusntltv % this cheap m,nurr
for use In Increasing hls riches. About
forty wears ego Dr. Dsrs of lowell
published = hcok ~ over j0O psges de-
voted to the use of swamp muck In the
place of msnar-. lie stsies thew that
Theoretically 100 pounds of
fRrsu pr0 rEtr
sud two pounds 90 sosis ash mingled to-
geiher are of equal value 20 the same
weight % pure COW dung. lie thinks.
however. that hls theory cslls for mose
soda ash than IL really needed and recom-
msnds ouiy ~ pounds Of soda ash Ia .
cord Of fresh dug peat. the cord costing
ss.i.
lie also gives directions for making
srtiicial manure from q peat still cheap
or by the use of salt aud lime. lie estl-
mites peat worth tifty cents per cord NJ
II lies In the swamp, aud the coat % dig
glng sud hauling one dollar. By add
Ing to three cords % fresh dug peat one
ba.hel 90 salt NJ sixty CENTS, and cssk
sf lime 1t si co. he would get thr~e
cords IL artificial manure st s!10 per
cord that would BE- fully equal TO COW
manure.
I dii not kpow Dr. Dana personally.
bat believe he vas an honest man and
wrote onlv What be believed TO be true,
and that the truth would be of use Ia
farmers. lie says, however, that he
I.
NOT A PRACTICAL rARuEI,
aud that he studied agricultural chemls-
try only a. q recreation from the daily
duties of life. hut What Influence has
hls book sud its theories now How
many farmers to-day having muck
.wamps are depending upon them ss the
source of plant food for their cropsi
Dry muck u use,i.io limited extent ~
an ab.orbcnt of llguldIm ,nurc In stables
aud pispen.. - I. dry Loan aud .snd.
There IL some value In each. but they
are not manure. have drained several
acres Of swamp muck land and convert
ed IL into iillage. II made good land,
but II Was not manure. Indeed manure
FROM the stable. paid as well spread up
on Il ss II sprrad upon any other land Of
the farm. This could not have been
true had the muck been equal 10 good
stable manure. The truth In the matter
Ia that
swANrNrck uAs BrE> ovrggArLD
by agricultural chemists of years sgo,
and practical farmers Who at one time
used large quantities. of II With great
expectations dli not obtain expected re
suits and now the muck swamps are
mostly lying Idle. swamp muck and
ditch scrsplngs are not manure. Both
may be valuable a. land, AZ soil, and
when spread on top of grass sod may
b. of some use Ia grass plants.
I doubt not that half Inch Of any
Kind Of farm .oll spread over grass will
increase its vlgor. Timothy has . bulb
at the bottom of IL. stalk from which
roots start out as from an onion. 10
gras. l. cut during excessively dry, hot
weather these bulb. often fall Ia catch
hold upon the soil by new roots, but II
the land Il given Just al thi. critical
period good dressing Of hne compost
which acts ss . mulch As well ~ feed
er of plant life it may
PRESERVE A SOD
that otherwise might he destroyed. !
believe in such topdresslng " one has
the material, particularly " the land IL
moist aud too stony for cultivation.
Ordinary tlllsge land am cure Will
pay better returns for the manure used
In a rotation where grass ~ill come in
az one of the crops. Were ! to use the
ditch .craplngs alluded to ss topdressing
I would as soon use them clear as to BE-
to the expense of shoyeling them over
and mixing In some chemicals. Nitrate
of soda, dissolved bone, potash and per
hsps some other Substances can be used
% topdr,sslng under favorable condi-
lions wilh little or no waste, and they
can be spread quite evenly by hand or
m,chine. They will do just ~ much
good applied separately ne u composted
With the swamp muck snd then applied.
Whether any of these chemicsls can b.
used probably upon the land In que--
,iou Will depend upon the present condI-
tion Of the sod,
IuE yALrE 40 NAV
to the owner aud the cost of the mate
rial applied. Actual experiment ON
limited scale will teach more than any
editor or agricultural writer possibly
can Who bases his judgment on theories
regarding muck. soda. lime and salt adj
ysneed by amateur agricultural chemists
of half century ago.
In the appendix To the mack manual
Dr. Dana quotes from several letters
from men of leisure Who had directed
their foremen 90 try some of the muck,
soda, lime and salt experiments upon
their farms. The reports are entirely
yaluelsss under the light of modern In
telligcnce.
Weights and measures are not given,
and no plots we're left without sppllcA-
tlon 10 bc compared Ne checks. AZ that
time men generally had not learned how
To make agricultural experiments that
would tell anything worth knosing
Not all have yet lcarned.-A. NJ. Checst-
man In New England Farmer.
our GsPoRT TRADE.
The flr.t cattl. exported frotn Amer
i,a to Glasgow was In lssJ-t~o ani-
-. IA. 49,. a. oh failau al nv six In One