1444. THEISLAND ACADIANS 
     
    
   
   
    
     As of 1860 the problem was solved in part when the virtues of mussel 
     
     mud were discovered and it began to be applied as a general practice. 
     
     This mud, taken from river beds, is made up of decomposing shells 
     
     and is an excellent source of calcium and other necessary soil nutrients. 
     
     The geologist and naturalist, Francis Bain, wrote in 1886: 
     
    
   
   
    
     “Mussel mud” has been a fortune to Prince Edward Island. A real treasure of 
     
     the deep lavished on the wealth of her agriculture. Every acre of arable land 
     
     dressed with this rich fertilizer has with fair treatment, its productiveness 
     
     doubled for fifty years to come... 
     
    

    
     Mudding increases the oat crop—the staple export of the Island—and 
     
     improves the quality of the grain. It makes wheat more certain. Potatoes are 
     
     increased in bulk though not in quality. Turnips have their burden of fodder 
     
     doubled and greatly enriched, while the pastures are thicker, sweeter and vastly 
     
     more nutritous.'** 
     
    
   
   
    
     Since the production of oats was the main source of income for 
     
     Island farmers the application of mussel mud thus constituted a 
     
     remarkable asset. 
     
    

    
     In addition to this soil dressing composed of shells, farmers also 
     
     fertilized their land with lobster shells from the packing plants, or 
     
     even with herring or mackerel which, most of the time, was very 
     
     cheap. Sometimes the farmer caught the fish himself. 
     
    

    
     In general, the crops were rotated on a seven year cycle with 
     
     fertilization taking place in the first year only'”®. Since there were few 
     
     farm animals the limited amount of manure made this type of rotation 
     
     necessary. 
     
    
   
   
    
     CROPS 
     
    
   
   
    
     During the 1860 to 1890 period, oats and potatoes were the 
     
     main crops on the Island. Acadians appear to have followed quite 
     
     closely the production trends of the province. Although oats consti- 
     
     tuted the leading commercial crop their production posed serious 
     
     problems because the fertility of the soil was exhausted very rapidly. 
     
     Consequently, the quality of the oats tended to deteriorate over the 
     
     years from lack of proper fertilizing. 
     
    

    
     Potatoes regained importance after a series of blights during the 
     
     1850s and 1860s. Thus, production went from three to seven million 
     
     bushels between 1860 and 1890"°. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
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