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FORMATION COMPOSITION
AND USES OF

MARLS OF MICHIGAN

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THESIS

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_ LIBRARY
Michigan State
University

 

 

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THESIS

 

 

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we > / é red q (Ale,
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LIBRARY

Michigan State
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THESIS.

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Formation, Composition anc Uses of Marls of Michigan.

In travelling over thy state of Michigan, one finds all
kinds of sotis,ranging from the jack-pinc plains of the north to

the marl anc peaty swamps anc marshes.Intervening between thase

two,we find all kinds of soils.

Michigan is noted for its mimvrous lakes and marshy swamps.A

large mmber of these lakes anc marshes have marl-beds for a bote
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tom. There are tut few counties in the Lower Peninsula that have
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not one or more oxtensive marl-beds.In the same county we will

find large tracts of lang which are in need of the elements of
plant growth.

The farmer can:ot affor:. to buy a fertilizer, and he is ig-

norant of the fact thet tho marl which 18 so cheap and easily pro=

cured,contains all tho esscntial clements of plant growth.By giv-

ing these lands a good coating of marl, they could be made very

productive.

In referring to the statistics of Michigan,I find that in 1890
‘the farmers of Michigen lost $10,050, 000, 00 in the production of
!

three crops,viz.,corn,oat3, anc wheat. Too mich money is paid out

for fertilizer when a gooc material can be obtained at a very

small cost.

{

The question arises,"Why cont the farmers use marl a8 a fer
tilizer 1f it is so valuable"? This question is comparatively

asily answered. Michigan is comparatively a newly settled coun

! ry,and the land is and has been very cheap.
|
THESIS
(2)

AS soon as one section of the country became settled, the more

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active and speculative classes moved farther back into the for~

eats Hence the poorer lands have not come into any use to any
extent until of late.The lands are comparatively new, and it is
t

‘but lately that commercial fertilizers have been used to any ex. -

tmt.on the other hand,wo find in many of the older settled coun-

:

ries that the farmers use marl as a fertilizer to a large extent.
Marl is used extensively as a rertilizer in Europe,parts of Asia
‘and Africa.

| In Egypt, they call tno marl,'morog'. Here it is very extensive

Aly used as a fertilizer.These marls are foliated marls, containing
pesrogens potassiun, phosphorous, lime, magnesium,oxide of iron, chlo-
|

‘ride and sulphate of soca. It has a depth of from fifty to one

|
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pmandred meters.These merls are found along the hills bordering
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the Nile Valley in Upper Egypt. When exposed to the air, the marl

hi
‘erumbles to a powder which renders the material available.

We find,along the shores of Lake Michigan, especially north of

Muskegon, beds of marl ceposited during the Drift Age.This marl . -

|

contains large amounts of vogetable and animal matter and there-
rore is rich in nitrogen, carbonate of lige and hums, It also

contains large amounts of Potassium, phosphorous and oxide of iron,

|

this marl was the most valuable marl of any I have anajyses,I ob-
‘tained it from the vicinity of Traverse City.

We also have marls from swamps that contain large amounts of
jnums. These marls are mace up mostly of mineral matter and mums
‘and are very valuable for fertilizers, | 96306

Our white marls or lime marls are formed in the bottom of
 

lakes;in river beds or in marshes.These marls are made up mostly
of carbonate of lime,ranging from 40 to 90 %.Besides this we find

Nitrogen, pho sphorous, potassium, magnesiun,manganese, iron and alum

imum; some contain soca.

The mechanical condition of the marl determines its value as
a fertilizer.If the lumps of marl will crumble down to a soft
pulp by the action of wator,it will make a good fertilizer.While
on the other hance if £t will nowt be acted on by water,it usually
contains too mich clay to bc valuable, for fertilizer.

We find the three kinds of olements in marls as well as in
most soils,

First-- The mechanical or inert material;

Second Reserve materials-those that will be made available by
other elements.

Third-- Active fooé for plant growth.

If it were not for the active properties of the different el-
ements of the soil,all the salts would be washed out by drainage
water.

™me elements of the éifferent marls besides acting directly
a8 plant food, have three important properties. By mixing with the
soll, it acts as a mechanical filter.Secondly;-Certain elements
of the marl act upon the claients of the 11 and chaige then
from an insoluble condition to a Soluble condition used by the
plait. Thirdly;- Many of the most valuable salts of the soil are
in a soluble condition. Certain elanents of the marl act upon
these salts by means of a chemical action,changing them from sol-

wuble to insoluble condit fon. These salts are then insoluble in
water, still they are capable of being used by the plante

Formation of marl—-beds.
Lakes and marshes serve as basins in which chemical de

posits may take place. Along with this they furnish an abode for

: Iuerustine fauna anc flora,receive the remains of the plants and

animalswashed down from the surrounding country and entomd these
organians in the growing coposits, We find layers of silt, sand,
mid,vegetable matter aud calcareous sudstances, formed from the
accumulation of lacrustine shells etc.

In the lakes and marshes that receive much sediment,litile or

no marl can be found;tmt we get depositions of silt in lakes and

mums and peaty soils in marshes.

On the other hanc when there 1s but little sedimunt, or where

it only comes occasionally at intervals of floods,beds of marl

formed of organic remains and mineral matter may gather on the

- bottom to a great cepth.

 

We have examples of txis from the Eocene Age in Wyoming,where
many squaro miles are covered,ogtalning a thickness of hundreds
of feet.

We find sme marls richly loaded with compounds of iron. The
formation of these beds is due to the agency of vegetable 1ife.In

marshy flats where stagnaht water receives a supply of the or-

, ganic acids from cecomposing plants, the salts of iron are dis-
| golved. Exposure to the air leads to the oxidation of 4ne 4yon-in-

| S2e-farm-of-hydratudferriewextde these solitions ahd the conse

quent precipitation of the iron in the form of hydrated ferric-
{1
|

| xidewhich mixed with other combinations of magnesia, sildca, phos—

phorous acid,lime,manganese,alumina and vegetable matter forms

one kind of marl.

Animal formatio::s of manl are chiefly composed of the remains

‘actinozoa anc Foraminiferae,

of the lower grades of the animal kingdom, especially of moluscea,

! Lime chiefly in tno Lorm of a carbonate, is the mineral sub-

stance Of which the solid parts of these animals are milt up.

|

Hence the marls mace up mostly.of accwmlations of animal remains
lave catveracoous. In frosh water they are represented by some of

ithe white marls of our lakes,rivers and marshes;consisting of the

jmouldertng remains of mollusca, entomostraca and partly of fresh

 

iwater Algae. On the sca bottom in shallow water, the marls are

{

made up of shells and the accumilations of the emcrement of fishes.

Marl is used for a great many things and the principal uses

| are the following; Marl is used as a fertilizer,to preserve the

|

‘Value of mamres, for the preservation of moisture in the s@il,

to mix with paris-groen for killing potato vugs, for making road

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: beds, for the manufacture of certain paints,in making of a polish

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as covering for pipes and boilers and in some parts of the coun-

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oa

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| try 1t 18 turned for lime to be used for mason work,
| Mavs makes a §000 fertilizer for light sandy soils containing

'@ fair supply of vegetable matter, and when decomposition is slow.
'It 1s very benificial to soils that tend to run to wild grasses.

| To get the best results, from the use of marl,it mse be on the

|

surface.It shoulc also be pulverized and m&xed with the: surface
soll, Frost is the best agont to pulverize the warl,so draw out
tw

newegg ee te

 

 

 
(6)

| the marl in the fall anc leave it to be acted upon by our cold

winters.In the spring the marl will be in a mellow condition, Ad-

|
@ing a tushel or so of salt to a ton of marl is very benificial.

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For grain crops it is found best to apply it in the spring of the

“year.

In proving the value of marls, I will set forth the value of
the principal elements tnat go to make up our marls,

we find that from 40 to 85% of our marls are made up of car-
bonate of lime. Lime 1s essential to plant growth. It rapidly i..-
promotes mtrification and increases the capacity of the soils to
hold other basis. The different salts of the soll being combined

with some acid,by mixing lime with the soil,the acid will unite

' withsome of the lime and may pass away,and the valuable salts

will form a double silicate which is insoluble.
The capillary power of the soll is greatly increased by the

application of lime, hence soil will hold more moisture for a long

| or perééda if troeatee with lime in the marl. It will keep clay from

puddling. Soils mist be 6ither neutral or alkaline, and lime chan
ges the acid soils to either of three conditions according ta the
amount used. It decomposes magy of the silicates and makes then
available for plant growth.It acts the same on crude vegetable
fibre. The conservation of the moisture in the soils is greatly
increased.It not only affects the soil with respect t® the evap-
oration of moisture,but it &ffects the plants by causing them to

a

become richer in salts anc therefore less sudject to loss of

moisture by transposipion.In connection with mitrification,it has
(7)

an indirect action in promoting the assimiability of potash,
Potassium is one of the essential clcemernts of plant growth
Besides this use the potasn salts absorbd the moisture of the air

'and add to the soil.This same property is ppeseméd in a simi-

lar degree by sulphate and carbonate of magnesium, The latter

material also assists in fixing the other valuable salts of the
|goil.

| Alumimium is the materia that the different salts unite
with to form an insoluble double silicate which will only be

acted upon by the action of plant growth.
Iron £8 also essential to plant growth.It is the iron

that alds the formation of Chloraphyl.It holds ammonia firmly
I
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in tre soils anc mst be present in all fertile soils,

hems has a wide range of affinity;it will hold and take

up large amounts of wator.It warms the soils several degrees

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. gid helps to bring cloments of plant growth into condition for
|

use by the plant.It is also one of the sources of nitrogen.It

\tkax It is however not the only source of nitrogen, but it does

convert the nitrogen into nitric acid so that it can be used

 

‘by the plant.

In the analysis of these marls mech precaution mst be taken

The following process WAS Sed, Ten grams of the marl were digested
|
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'4n Hydrochloric Aéid for several hours on a wascr ocath;diluted to

W

!

ments. I made a carefil analysis of three different kinds of

SO0CC., and aliquot paris taken for enalysis of the valuable ele-

marl and the following i s the result.
“uahe
(8)

"Name of place fron; Percent of different elements.

‘where marl came; Insoluble matter;Lime;Mg;Mamganose; 'K ; P iother

 

 

 

 

 

| ceder.B& BW _ 3___— 27.76 162, 22:5,18: 1.04 3,15:,45; 5,86
_Branch Co, _ _. 2 8, * 8 bq 91: lL 0 ° yj
_Grend Rapids We : 14,135 -78,21:2,85:; 1,75 3,02:,28: 2,76

 

 

I analysed six samples for phosphoric acid and obtained the

following results.

‘Grand Rapics; Cedar: Branch: Traverse City; Portland: AuSepble,

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tk 9
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a8 3.9 45 | 255 3238

Prof. R.C. Kedzis, Savcral years ago, made an analysis of sSev-

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55 251

 

eral marls anc. I will take the llberty to copy his results.

Berrien County Marl.

 

Carbonate of Lime 79.60
Carbonate o f Magnesiun 4.54
Fe®rous Oxide 1.435
Insoluble matter 13.00

Organig matter 1.43

St.Joseph County Marl.

, Carbonate of Calcium 6.16
: Carbonate of Magnesiun 6.00
) Ferrous Oxide 1.05
: Insoluble matter 38.79

Lenawee County Marl.

-Garbonate of Calcium 90.00

. Carbonate of Magnesium 2.00
| Insoluble matter 5.50

 

: Organic matter 2.50
(8) ™

0 Otsego County Marl.

Carbonate of Calcium 80.00
| Carbonate of Magnesium 2.50
| Phosphate of Lime 1.50
Insoluble matter 16,00

I also determinec the amount of nitrogen in the black or hums
marls from Traverse City and the white marls from Grand Rapids.
| In the Traverse City marls I found 1.45% of Nitrogen and in the
|Grand Rapids marls .68 of 1%,

By a report of Dr. R.C. Kedzie,I find that he gives the market
value of certain bohe fertilizers to be $39.00 per ton. I will

| give the valuable elvcmonts m¥ the same valuo he did and com

| pute the worth of a tone of marl as a fertilizer. For this com

| putation I will take my best marl,which comes from Traverse City.

20% of Anmonia at 18cts. per # $5.43

i

L3f of Phosphoric Acid at S8cts. por # 1.04
|

Sf of Potash at 6cts pur $ _. 250
Total value of Ni-trogen,Phosphonous & Potash $6.77

|
| Besides this value tho marls range from 50 to 85% of

lime.Land plaster is rotailed at about $5.00 per ton.By atomic

‘weights I find one ton of our best marls to amount to as moh as

a ton of land plaster, hence this would give the marls a value

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of over $10.00 ver ton as a fertilizer, besides the value of

ithe tron, alumimin,magnosiun,and manganese which add mich to the

i value of the soll,

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The white marls are run through a sereen,(an ordinary sand

' sereen )after being dried and pulverized, the same as land plaster
:

an 4a di awe
(9)

| and a@ then mixed vith paris-green and used to paris~green
potatoes. The marl will adhere to the potato vines better than
| the land plaster,thus holding the poison longer on the plant

| and getting more benifit from the same.

In many places people burn these marls for Lime which is
| then well suitec for building purposes.

In many of the olccr gountries,the people are using marl for
| making road-beds,which,when mixed with clay,makes a cheap and

| very durable roac-bcd.

White marl, being a very poor conductor of heat and also
owing to its cheapness,is becoming very popular as a covering for
steam pipes and boilers.

There is no appreciable grit to white marl and owing to
this property,it is used in the manufacture of polishes, Polishes
madc Prom marl are the vory best knd for polishing sel vor-and
brass-ware anc also for steel instruments.

Many firms of the United StateS,who mamifacture Portland
cement,use large quantities of these marls instead of pure lime.

Another very important use for these marls is in the
mamifacture of some of our floor-paints.

some of our marls are valuable for some useé while others
are not; but one can jucge for himself whether these marls belong
to one class of the other. I know of some large business firms
in the United States that pay from $8.00 to§I0.00 per ton for
dried marl.

These mrl1s aro of moh value.Let us use then and plenty

will be vrought to our homes,
poyal clare Fishe&®:
fal ee

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