2C0 STATE BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. 



The value of such topdrossings are fully understood among the farmers of 

 Great Britain, where none of this class of land is reclaimed without the addi- 

 tion of sand, lime, clay, or manures of various kinds, aud sometimes all of 

 them are used. With us, however, the value of such topdressings is not appre- 

 ciated or understood. Tlieir value may be easily learned from experiments on 

 a small scale. 



Swamp lands vary greatly in the cost of drainage, some being very easily 

 drained, merely requiring a good outlet and drains to catch the water that 

 comes down on them from the surrounding upland, while others having a hard 

 and impervious subsoil near the surface, require frequent drains over the entire 

 surface. Springy swam})s are usually the most difficult to drain ■well, as it is 

 necessary to so cut the ditches as to tap the stream of water before it reaches 

 the surface, and this requires some skill and ex])ericnce. 



The nature of the vegetation growing on a swamp will have considerable 

 influence on the cost of reclamation. 



With our present drain laws many swamps are ditched and then left without 

 Any further attempt at rendering them productive, the owners supposing that 

 they being rid of their surplus water will, like new cleared upland, soon pro- 

 duce good pasture without seeding. This is a mistake ; the old marsh vegeta- 

 tion is firmly rooted, and though the drained land is not well suited to its 

 growth, it hangs on and is replaced very slowly or not at all by better feed. 



Kow if we are to expend a?u/ money at all on these lands the only way to get 

 it back is to keep working at them till they will grow good crops of some kind. 

 Out off the brush and break np the wild grass sod and get good tame grasses 



grown) g. 



The most of our swamp lands, wiien properly ditched and cleared, are espe- 

 cially adapted to grazing and the production of hay, and for this reason are 

 usually more profitable when owned and farmed in connection with adjoining 

 upland ; this is especially the case where mixed farming is followed. 



Again, the closer and more comjiact a farm is the cheaper it can be worked. 

 In other words, it may be more profitable to reclaim and work a swamp than 

 to go around and beyond this swamp to purchase upland, because the upland is 

 farther away from the buildings. 



The cost of fencing must also be considered in looking at this subject, espe- 

 cially if the swamp is already on the farm. So long as the swamp is unpro- 

 ductive the adjoining cultivated field must bear the whole cost of the fence 

 between them; when the swamp is cleared, we increase the productive area of 

 the farm without much increase of fence, and thereby reduce the cost per acre 

 of fencing tiie farm. 



With these brief remarks I will close, saying only that I believe these lands, 

 as a whole, offer surplus capital a good chance for investment, with sure and 

 profltable returns ; but these returns will vary greatly with the skill and judg- 

 ment of the investor in buying aud reclaiming them. 



A number of topics were discussed in a general way at this session, and 

 essays were read by Mr. S. B. Persons and Mrs. W. K. Sexton, the first on 

 "Our Kcsponsibilities," the second on " The Farmer : Ilis Position and Duty." 

 AVe have not the manuscripts of these essays and consequently are unable to 

 publisli tlicm. Prof. Ingersoll also gave a short talk on Dairy Breeds of Cat- 

 tle and Yields of Milk. After a vote of thanks to the members of the College 

 Faculty and others who had taken part in the exercises the Institute was 

 declared adjourned. 



