Peat and its Uses as Fertilizer and Fuel Part 6

c. _This brings us to the subject of composting_, which appears to be the best means of taking full advantage of all the good qualities of peat, and of obviating or neutralizing the ill results that might follow the use of some raw peats, either from a peculiarity in their composition, (soluble organic compounds of iron, sulphate of protoxide of iron,) or from too great indestructibility. The chemical changes (oxidation of _iron_ and _organic acids_), which prepare the inert or even hurtful ingredients of peat to minister to the support of vegetation, take place most rapidly in presence of certain other substances.

The substances which rapidly induce chemical change in peats, are of two kinds, viz.: 1.--animal or vegetable matters that are highly susceptible to alteration and decay, and 2.--alkalies, either _ammonia_ coming from the decomposition of animal matters, or _lime_, _potash_ and _soda_.

A great variety of matters may of course be employed for making or mixing with peat composts; but there are comparatively few which allow of extensive and economical use, and our notice will be confined to these.

First of all, the composting of peat with _animal manures_ deserves attention. Its advantages may be summed up in two statements.

1.--It is an easy and perfect method of economizing all such manures, even those kinds most liable to loss by fermentation, as night soil and horse dung; and,

2.--It develops most fully and speedily the inert fertilizing qualities of the peat itself.

Without attempting any explanation of the changes undergone by a peat and manure compost, further than to say that the fermentation which begins in the manure extends to and involves the peat, reducing the whole nearly, if not exactly, to the condition of well-rotted dung, and that in this process the peat effectually prevents the loss of nitrogen as ammonia,--I may appropriately give the practical experience of farmers who have proved in the most conclusive manner how profitable it is to devote a share of time and labor to the manufacture of this kind of compost.

_Preparation of Composts with Stable Manure._--The best plan of composting is to have a water tight trench, four inches deep and twenty inches wide, constructed in the stable floor, immediately behind the cattle, and every morning put a bushel-basketful of muck behind each animal. In this way the urine is perfectly absorbed by the muck, while the warmth of the freshly voided excrements so facilitates the fermentative process, that, according to Mr. F. Holbrook, Brattleboro, Vt., who has described this method, _much more muck can thus be well prepared for use_ in the spring, than by any of the ordinary modes of composting. When the dung and muck are removed from the stable, they should be well intermixed, and as fast as the compost is prepared, it should be put into a compact heap, and covered with a layer of muck several inches thick. It will then hardly require any shelter if used in the spring.

If the peat be sufficiently dry and powdery, or free from tough lumps, it may usefully serve as bedding, or litter for horses and cattle, as it absorbs the urine, and is sufficiently mixed with the dung in the operation of cleaning the stable. It is especially good in the pig-pen, where the animals themselves work over the compost in the most thorough manner, especially if a few kernels of corn be occasionally scattered upon it.

Mr. Edwin Hoyt, of New Canaan, Conn., writes:--"Our horse stables are constructed with a movable floor and pit beneath, which holds 20 loads of muck of 25 bushels per load. Spring and fall, this pit is filled with fresh muck, which receives all the urine of the horses, and being occasionally worked over and mixed, furnishes us annually with 40 loads of the most valuable manure."

"Our stables are sprinkled with muck every morning, at the rate of one bushel per stall, and the smell of ammonia, etc., so offensive in most stables, is never perceived in ours. Not only are the stables kept sweet, but the ammonia is saved by this procedure."

When it is preferred to make the compost out of doors, the plan generally followed is to lay down a bed of weathered peat, say eight to twelve inches thick; cover this with a layer of stable dung, of four to eight inches; put on another stratum of peat, and so, until a heap of three to four feet is built up. The heap may be six to eight feet wide, and indefinitely long. It should be finished with a thick coating of peat, and the manure should be covered as fast as brought out.

The proportions of manure and peat should vary somewhat according to their quality and characters. Strawy manure, or that from milch-cows, will "ferment" less peat than clear dung, especially when the latter is made by horses or highly fed animals. Some kinds of peat heat much easier than others. There are peats which will ferment of themselves in warm moist weather--even in the bog, giving off ammonia in perceptible though small amount. Experience is the only certain guide as to the relative quant.i.ties to be employed, various proportions from one to five of peat for one of manure, by bulk, being used.

When the land is light and needs amending, as regards its retentive power, it is best to make the quant.i.ty of peat as large as can be thoroughly fermented by the manure.

The making of a high heap, and the keeping it trim and in shape, is a matter requiring more labor than is generally necessary. Mr. J. H.

Stanwood, of Colebrook, Conn., writes me:--

"My method of composting is as follows: I draw my muck to the barn-yard, placing the loads as near together as I can tip them from the cart. Upon this I spread whatever manure I have at hand, and mix with the feet of the cattle, and heap up with a sc.r.a.per."

Peat may be advantageously used to save from waste the droppings of the yard.

Mr. Edwin Hoyt, of New Canaan, Conn., says:--"We use muck largely in our barn-yards, and after it becomes thoroughly saturated and intermixed with the droppings of the stock, it is piled up to ferment, and the yard is covered again with fresh muck."

Mr. N. Hart, Jr., of West Cornwall, Conn., writes:--"In the use of muck we proceed as follows: Soon after haying we throw up enough for a year's use, or several hundred loads. In the fall, the summer's acc.u.mulation in hog-pens and barn cellars is spread upon the mowing grounds, and a liberal supply of muck carted in and spread in the bottoms of the cellars, ready for the season for stabling cattle. When this is well saturated with the drippings of the stables, a new supply is added. The acc.u.mulation of the winter is usually applied to the land for the corn crop, except the finer portion, which is used to top-dress meadow land.

A new supply is then drawn in for the swine to work up. This is added to from time to time, and as the swine are fed on whey, they will convert a large quant.i.ty into valuable manure for top-dressing mowing land."

A difference of opinion exists as to the treatment of the compost. Some hold it indifferent whether the peat and manure are mixed, or put in layers when the composting begins. Others a.s.sert, that the fermentation proceeds better when the ingredients are stratified. Some direct, that the compost should not be stirred. The general testimony is, that mixture, at the outset, is as effectual as putting up in layers; but, if the manure be strawy, it is, of course, difficult or impracticable to mix at first. Opinion also preponderates in favor of stirring, during or after the fermentation.

Mr. Hoyt remarks:--"We are convinced, that the oftener a compost pile of yard manure and muck is worked over after fermenting, the better. We work it over and add to it a little more muck and other material, and the air being thus allowed to penetrate it, a new fermentation or heating takes place, rendering it more decomposable and valuable."

Rev. Wm. Clift, writes:--"Three or four loads of muck to one of stable manure, put together in the fall or winter in alternate layers, forked over twice before spreading and plowing in, may represent the method of composting."

Mr. Adams White, of Brooklyn, Conn., proceeds in a different manner. He says:--"In composting, 20 loads are drawn on to upland in September, and thrown up in a long pile. Early in the spring 20 loads of stable manure are laid along side, and covered with the muck. As soon as it has heated moderately, the whole is forked over and well mixed."

Those who have practiced making peat composts with their yard, stable, and pen manure, almost invariably find them highly satisfactory in use, especially upon light soils.

A number of years ago, I saw a large pile of compost in the farm-yard of Mr. Pond, of Milford, Conn., and witnessed its effect as applied by that gentleman to a field of sixteen acres of fine gravelly or coa.r.s.e sandy soil. The soil, from having a light color and excessive porosity, had become dark, unctuous, and retentive of moisture, so that during the drouth of 1856, the crops on this field were good and continued to flourish, while on the contiguous land they were dried up and nearly ruined. This compost was made from a light muck, that contained but three _per cent._ of ash (more than half of which was sand), and but 1.2 _per cent._ of nitrogen, in the air-dry state--(twenty _per cent._ of water). Three loads of this muck were used to one of stable manure.

Here follow some estimates of the value of this compost by practical men. They are given to show that older statements, to the same effect, cannot be regarded as exaggerated.

Mr. J. H. Stanwood, of Colebrook, Conn., says:--"Experiments made by myself, have confirmed me in the opinion that a compost of equal parts of muck and stable manure is equal to the same quant.i.ty of stable manure."

Mr. Daniel Buck, Jr., of Poquonock, Conn., remarks:--"8 loads of muck and 4 of manure in compost, when properly forked over, are equal to 12 loads of barn-yard manure on sandy soil."

Rev. Wm. Clift, of Stonington, Conn., writes:--"I consider a compost made of one load of stable manure and three of muck, equal in value to four loads of yard manure."

Mr. N. Hart, Jr., of West Cornwall, Conn., observes of a peat sent by him for a.n.a.lysis:--"We formerly composted it in the yard with stable manure, but have remodeled our stables, and now use it as an absorbent and to increase the bulk of manure to double its original quant.i.ty. We consider the mixture more valuable than the same quant.i.ty of stable manure." Again, "so successful has been the use of it, that we could hardly carry on our farming operations without it."

Mr. Adams White, of Brooklyn, Conn., states:--"The compost of equal bulks of muck and stable manure, has been used for corn (with plaster in the hill,) on dry sandy soil to great advantage. I consider the compost worth more per cord than the barn-yard manure."

_Night Soil_ is a substance which possesses, when fresh, the most valuable fertilizing qualities, in a very concentrated form. It is also one which is liable to rapid and almost complete deterioration, as I have demonstrated by a.n.a.lyses. The only methods of getting the full effect of this material are, either to use it fresh, as is done by the Chinese and j.a.panese on a most extensive and offensive scale; or to compost it before it can decompose. The former method, will, it is to be hoped, never find acceptance among us. The latter plan has nearly all the advantages of the former, without its unpleasant features.

When the night soil falls into a vault, it may be composted, by simply sprinkling fine peat over its surface, once or twice weekly, as the case may require, _i. e._ as often as a bad odor prevails. The quant.i.ty thus added, may be from twice to ten times the bulk of the night soil,--the more within these limits, the better. When the vault is full, the ma.s.s should be removed, worked well over and after a few days standing, will be ready to use to manure corn, tobacco, etc., in the hill, or for any purpose to which guano or poudrette is applied. If it cannot be shortly used, it should be made into a compact heap, and covered with a thick stratum of peat. When signs of heating appear, it should be watched closely; and if the process attains too much violence, additional peat should be worked into it. Drenching with water is one of the readiest means of checking too much heating, but acts only temporarily. Dilution with peat to a proper point, which experience alone can teach, is the surest way of preventing loss. It should not be forgotten to put a thick layer of peat at the bottom of the vault to begin with.

Another excellent plan, when circ.u.mstances admit, is, to have the earth-floor where the night soil drops, level with the surface of the ground, or but slightly excavated, and a shed attached to the rear of the privy to shelter a good supply of peat as well as the compost itself. Operations are begun by putting down a layer of peat to receive the droppings; enough should be used to absorb all the urine. When this is nearly saturated, more should be sprinkled on, and the process is repeated until the acc.u.mulations must be removed to make room for more.

Then, once a week or so, the whole is hauled out into the shed, well mixed, and formed into a compact heap, or placed as a layer upon a stratum of peat, some inches thick, and covered with the same. The quant.i.ty of first-cla.s.s compost that may be made yearly upon any farm, if due care be taken, would astonish those who have not tried it. James Smith, of Deanston, Scotland, who originated our present system of Thorough Drainage, a.s.serted, that the excrements of one man for a year, are sufficient to manure half an acre of land. In Belgium the manure from such a source has a commercial value of $9.00 gold.

It is certain, that the skillful farmer may make considerably more than that sum from it in New England, _per annum_. Mr. Hoyt, of New Canaan, Conn., says:--

"Our privies are deodorized by the use of muck, which is sprinkled over the surface of the pit once a week, and from them alone we thus prepare annually, enough "poudrette" to manure our corn in the hill."

_Peruvian Guano_, so serviceable in its first applications to light soils, may be composted with muck to the greatest advantage. Guano is an excellent material for bringing muck into good condition, and on the other hand the muck most effectually prevents any waste of the costly guano, and at the same time, by furnishing the soil with its own ingredients, to a greater or less degree prevents the exhaustion that often follows the use of guano alone. The quant.i.ty of muck should be pretty large compared to that of the guano,--a bushel of guano will compost six, eight, or ten of muck. Both should be quite fine, and should be well mixed, the mixture should be moist and kept covered with a layer of muck of several inches of thickness. This sort of compost would probably be sufficiently fermented in a week or two of warm weather, and should be made and kept under cover.

If no more than five or six parts of muck to one of guano are employed, the compost, according to the experience of Simon Brown, Esq., of the Boston _Cultivator_, (Patent Office Report for 1856), will prove injurious, if placed in the hill in contact with seed, but may be applied broadcast without danger.

The _Menhaden_ or "_White fish_", so abundantly caught along our Sound coast during the summer months, or any variety of fish may be composted with muck, so as to make a powerful manure, with avoidance of the excessively disagreeable stench which is produced when these fish are put directly on the land. Messrs. Stephen Hoyt & Sons, of New Canaan, Conn., make this compost on a large scale. I cannot do better than to give entire Mr. Edwin Hoyt's account of their operations, communicated to me several years ago.

"During the present season, (1858,) we have composted about 200,000 white fish with about 700 loads (17,500 bushels) of muck. We vary the proportions somewhat according to the crop the compost is intended for.

For rye we apply 20 to 25 loads per acre of a compost made with 4,500 fish, (one load) and with this manuring, no matter how poor the soil, the rye will be as large as a man can cradle. Much of ours we have to reap. For oats we use less fish, as this crop is apt to lodge. For corn, one part fish to ten or twelve muck is about right, while for gra.s.s or any top-dressing, the proportion of fish may be increased."

"We find it is best to mix the fish in the summer and not use the compost until the next spring and summer. Yet we are obliged to use in September for our winter rye a great deal of the compost made in July.

We usually compost the first arrivals of fish in June for our winter grain; after this pile has stood three or four weeks, it is worked over thoroughly. In this s.p.a.ce of time the fish become pretty well decomposed, though they still preserve their form and smell outrageously. As the pile is worked over, a sprinkling of muck or plaster is given to retain any escaping ammonia. At the time of use in September the fish have completely disappeared, bones and fins excepted."

"The effect on the muck is to blacken it and make it more loose and crumbly. As to the results of the use of this compost, we find them in the highest degree satisfactory. We have raised 30 to 35 bushels of rye per acre on land that without it could have yielded 6 or 8 bushels at the utmost. This year we have corn that will give 60 to 70 bushels per acre, that otherwise would yield but 20 to 25 bushels. It makes large potatoes, excellent turnips and carrots."

Fish compost thus prepared, is a uniform ma.s.s of fishy but not putrefactive odor, not disagreeable to handle. It retains perfectly all the fertilizing power of the fish. Lands, manured with this compost, will keep in heart and improve: while, as is well known to our coast farmers, the use of fish alone is ruinous in the end, on light soils.

It is obvious that _any other easily decomposing animal matters, as slaughter-house offal, soap boiler's sc.r.a.ps, glue waste, horn shavings, shoddy, castor pummace, cotton seed-meal, etc., etc._, may be composted in a similar manner, and that several or all these substances may be made together into one compost.

In case of the composts with yard manure, guano and other animal matters, the alkali, _ammonia_, formed in the fermentation, greatly promotes chemical change, and it would appear that this substance, on some accounts, excels all others in its efficacy. The other alkaline bodies, _potash_, _soda_ and _lime_, are however scarcely less active in this respect, and being at the same time, of themselves, useful fertilizers, they also may be employed in preparing muck composts.

_Potash-lye_ and _soda-ash_ have been recommended for composting with muck; but, although they are no doubt highly efficacious, they are too costly for extended use.

The other alkaline materials that may be cheaply employed, and are recommended, are _wood-ashes_, leached and unleached, _ashes of peat_, _sh.e.l.l marl_, (consisting of carbonate of lime,) _quick lime_, _gas lime_, and what is called "_salt and lime mixture_."

With regard to the proportions to be used, no very definite rules can be laid down; but we may safely follow those who have had experience in the matter. Thus, to a cord of muck, which is about 100 bushels, may be added, of unleached wood ashes twelve bushels, or of leached wood ashes twenty bushels, or of peat ashes twenty bushels, or of marl, or of gas lime twenty bushels. Ten bushels of quick lime, slaked with water or salt-brine previous to use, is enough for a cord of muck.