4. The plasticity of the material is low. In the peat material it is especially lacking but is better developed in the muck soil.

5. Muck and peat land is deficient in potash and requires heavy applications of that material for crop production.

6. The climate of muck soil is inclined to be frosty. This results from the position of the material in hollows and from its large water content. Such materials accumulate the cold air in spring, and the warming of the soil is delayed by its large water

content.

ORIGIN

The origin of the material is suggested by its primary characteristics. It represents the accumulation of various kinds of plant remains over a long period of years. Upon the death of the plants. their materials have been covered by the swamp water where the air is excluded and where antiseptic properties have been develped, both of which hinder decomposition. Decay goes on more slowly than the accumulation and consequently the deposits have been built up from year to year until frequently they have attained depths of 30 to 40 feet. Usually, however, the depth is from 2 to 10 feet.

KINDS OF PLANTS THAT FORM MUCK

There is a considerable variation in the kind of plants that make up muck and peat deposits. They vary not only with different areas but at different depths in the same area. Sometimes they start on the border of a lake and gradually build themselves out over the surface of the water until the lake is filled. In other cases the water is sufficiently shallow so that the first plants find rooting on the bottom and gradually fill the lake with the plant materials. The following types of vegetation have been recognized as responsible for such accumulations:

1. Mosses, including the floating forms that live on the edge of open water. Sphagnum moss is one of the common varieties that contributes largely to the latter stages of muck formation.

2. Grasses and flags. These grow luxuriantly where the water level is near the surface of the land and in time they may form large accumulations. The Montezuma marsh is representative of

this type.

3. After the muck and peat has accumulated until it has reached the surface of the water of the swamp and affords a fairly firm foundation, various types of shrub and tree growth develop. When the land is especially wet, cedar and tamarack frequently develops. The latter survives out nearly to the edge of open water.

4. In the latter stages, various hardwood trees are introduced. The more common of these are elm, black ash and soft maple. This latter type of vegetation is generally characteristic of an advanced stage in muck formation. Frequently cedar is interspersed with the hardwood species. The large growth of hardwood trees and of weeds and shrub plants is one of the best indications of the agricultural value of muck soil. When it will support such plants it is very certain to be suitable, with little treatment, for the growth of agricultural crops. Where the vegetation is predominately cedar and tamarack-species rich in resin the resulting soil is likely to be loose and peaty and has a low agricultural value. It may be that the resinous matter in the wood interferes with decay. Such soil inclines to be dry and has a poor relation to moisture. Where the prevailing timber is hardwood with only an occasional specimen of cedar, the crop value is usually good.

The muck and peat deposits in New York may be divided into two general groups. The first of these is the tide water swamps under the influence of salt water. Flags and grass are the prevailing type of vegetation. They are generally very fibrous and covered by hummocks of plants. The salt water hinders decay. When drained and protected from tidal overflow the salt is gradually washed out by the fresh water from the uplands and from rainfall and the soil becomes favorable for cropping. Areas of this soil have been developed on parts of Long Island.

The other type is the fresh water swamps in the inland part of the state. Some of these are broad, shallow sheets of muck and peat soil while others are small deposits often of great depth. There is often a considerable difference in the agricultural value of these two types. The first, when drained, is likely to suffer seriously from the lack of water because of the poor moisture relations of the material and the fact that the water-table may be too far

OF

below the surface. The smaller areas are often bordered by numerous springs which even after drainage keep the water-table fairly near the surface. Such areas are likely to have higher agricultural value.

The wide variations in the character of muck and peat soil are due to the kind of plants of which it is formed and the stage of decay. The stage of decay varies not only with the area but at different depths in the same area. Where the water level has been permanently at or near the surface, the surface soil is a better quality of muck than the subsoil, which is likely to be quite peaty, In other cases, however, a better quality of muck soil is found below the surface than at the surface. It is possible that this represents changes in the drainage condition of the area. Some recent obstruction of drainage may have raised the water level and thus renew the process of peat formation. In the deep areas the lower part of the formation is likely to have lost its peaty nature and it sometimes takes on a dark grayish color and a flaky nature. When thoroughly broken up by tillage such material may make good soil.

There is a considerable variation in the underlying material of muck bogs. In every case the ultimate foundation is a clay or some other compact formation which retains the water. Above this there may be a strata of sand, and in the New York areas, especially through the middle part of the state from Buffalo eastward, deep accumulations of marl are common. These marl deposits are made up chiefly of lime carbonate. Shells of mussels are abundant but the origin of the material seems to be due to the growth of a certain type of moss which precites lime carbonate from the swamp water. In a number of deposits south of Rochester, the marl is many feet in depth, is of very great purity and is covered by only a thin layer of a few inches to a foot or more of muck. The purer deposits are sometimes used as a source of lime carbonate for the soil, for which purpose when dried and pulverized they are entirely satisfactory.

PROPORTION OF ORGANIC MATTER

Special properties. Muck and peat soil contain from 50 to more than 85 per cent. of organic matter. Usually the more peaty