PKODUCTmTY OF SALT-MAESH LAND 335 



" ' These fignres, though large, are not fanciful, but are based on results ob- 

 tained in actual practice in different sections of the country where work of this 

 kind has been done. An extended investigation shows that in every case where 

 a complete system of drainage has been planned and carried out the land has 

 increased m value many fold. In some instances, however, much time and 

 money have been wasted because the work was undertaken without any well- 

 defined plan or it was not sufficient to afford adequate and complete drainage. 



" ' The reclamation of swamp and overflowed lands is no longer an experi- 

 ment ; it has become a highly profitable business when based on correct principles. 

 The methods of drainage practiced in different parts of this country and in some 

 of the foreign countries are being carefully considered, and many experiments 

 are being made to determine the best and most economical methods of draining 

 land, and the information thus collected is being classified and the results com- 

 pared and general rules deduced, which, if followed, will in all cases bring 

 highly beneficial results. The comparative cost of the different methods of 

 doing the work and the most satisfactory way of providing funds are also being 

 duly considered. 



" ' Were this 77,000,000 acres of swamp and overflowed land drained and made 

 healthful and fit for agriculture and divided into farms of 40 acres each, it 

 would provide homes for 1,925,000 families. Swamp lands, when drained, are 

 extremely fertile, requiring but little commercial fertilizer, and yield abundant 

 crops. They are adapted to a wide range of products and in most instances are 

 convenient to good markets. While an income of $15 to $20 per acre in the 

 grain-producing States of the Middle West is considered profitable, much of the 

 swamp land in the East and South would, if cultivated in cabbage, onions, celery, 

 tomatoes, and other vegetables, yield a net income of more than $100 per acre. 



" ' In addition to the immediate benefits that accrue from the increased pro- 

 ductiveness of these lands, a greater and more lasting benefit would follow their 

 reclamation. The taxable value of the Commonwealth would be permanently 

 increased, and healthfulness of the community would be improved, mosquitoes 

 and malaria would be banished, and the construction of good roads made 

 possible. Factories, churches, and schools would open iip, and instead of active 

 young farmers from the Mississippi Valley emigrating to Canada to seek cheap 

 lands they could find better homes within our own borders. 



" ' Holland, two-fifths of which lies below the level of the sea, has been re- 

 claimed by diking and draining, and now supports a population of 450 per 

 square mile. Her soil is no better than the marshes of this country, and her 

 climate not so good as that of the Southern States, yet we have within our 

 border an undeveloped empire ten times her area. 



" ' There is no good reason why this condition should longer continue, and 

 it is to be hoped that the American people will soon take steps to abate this 

 nuisance and make these lands contribute to the support and upbuilding of the 

 nation.' 



" In an important article by Mr. H. C. Weeks, in the Scientific American Sup- 

 plement for January 5, 1901, on the subject of drainage work, the following in- 

 teresting statements are made : 



" ' Cases exist, however, of persons being unwilling to be convinced, and con- 

 tinuing their opposition even after a successful reclamation, as are seen in the 

 official records of Massachusetts, while examinations by the State have shown a 

 great improvement in the sanitary and agricultural conditions. In the instance 

 of Green Harbor, in that State, it is shown that the death rate of the reclaimed 

 districts averages lower than the general death rate of the State, that there is a 

 steady increase in summer visitors, and that many houses are being built. The 

 testimony of persons of wide knowledge and ample experience in the science and 



