The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1899-01-25
Undcrdrnining Muck swamp.

There is a far better way to make
use of swamp of rich black muck
than to draw it out, season II n year or
spread it on uplands. No doubt there
are places where this plan may pay,
bat it is not economy. The black
muck is probably not nearly SO rich
in iertiizing material as is supposed,
and so much handling of it as is re.
quired to draw il in its raw state, sen.
son it and then handle it again to ap.
ply it, very rarely pays. The better
way is to make underdrains through
the swamp, possibly il there is n great
deal of water leading all these drains
into an open ditch, which should have
n growth of sod on its sides as early as
possible. In two or three years frost
will penetrate to the depth of two
feet or more in the pliable muck, and
the surface if left bare through the
winter can easily be cultivated until
it is as mellow as an ash heap.
Usually these muck swamps are
underlaid with clay subsoil. That
is Il good sign, for it means that less
of the fertility has been washed away
and lost. In all cases the drains
should be put down deep enough to
reach the clay, and some gravel should
be put over the joints of the tile, so as
to not only keep the clay from stop.
ping the water from entering, but also
to prevent the fine black mould from
above from sitting into the tile.
Sometimes when we get down to the
clay springs of water will burst forth.
Where n spring is found, much care
will be required in laying the tile, as
there will be great deal of sand
brought up by the water, and this is
likely to get into and choke the tile.
The best way probably is to leave an
opening here in the drain and make
small pond there with the spring of
water in the centre. IT is slow, dirty
work dredging out such pond so as
to have the water rise up from n lower
depth than the drain. 1t will require
attention every year to keep this hole
from filling up But spch spring
once found will furnish water at any
time through the open Glitch into
which the tile carries it.
After the swamp is drained, Il should
he cultivated with ordinary farm crops,
but reserved for those which require
mucky soil TO do their best. If grain
is sown it will probably make rank
growth of straw, which, lacking mineral
fertility, will not be able to sustain its
own weight. The grain crop will
probably rust, and both that and the
straw will prove failure. But q
drained muck bed fertilized with pot
ash and phosphate makes first rate
place for celery, for cabbage and for
corn. These can be better grown on
the drained muck bed than on uplands
fertilized with the swamp muck spread
over them. Almost all mucky soils
are deficient in potash. They are the
remains of vegetation that has very
little mineral matter in it. A dressing
of phosphate aud potash applied to
mucky soils makes them almost as
rich as fermented COW manure. In
time the muck bed will waste away by
exposure to the air, and for this reason
it should every few years grow crop
of clover to renew the vegetable mat
ter it has lost 1t may seem needless
where the soil is still black with the
remains of old vegetation to plow
under clover growth, but the clover
is far more nitrogenous than any veg
etable matter. this soil ever produced
before, and it also contains a greater
amount of mineral fertility. SO there
is probably no way Of making clover
produce better effect than by grow
ing it on soil which is apparently al
ready full ofyegetable matter. Amer.
lean Cultivator.