376 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



SOME OF THE RESULTS OF DRAINAGE. 



About the only agricultural product gro\\Ti on these lands in their 

 native condition is marsh ha}^. This haj^" sells at present in the 

 vicinity of Boston at $8 a ton. On areas which have been drained 

 the ha}^ sells for $25 a ton, and the yield per acre is larger than on 

 the undrained tracts. The simplest form of improvement possible, 

 therefore, increases the productive value of these lands threefold, 

 but the greater part of the lands which have been reclaimed are too 

 valuable for the growing of ha}", and have been brought immediatel}'' 

 into intensive cultivation. (PI. XIII.) Cranberries are probably 

 the most important crop at present grown on tide marshes. The 

 area of cranberry bogs is being constantlj^ extended and the trade 

 in this fruit has assumed large proportions. Cranberry gro^^^ng 

 during the past two or three 3^ears has been quite profitable, and this 

 has resulted in a marked activity in the extension of the area devoted 

 to the crop and to the value of the lands reclaimed. Good bogs along 

 the North Atlantic coast now sell for $1,000 an acre and pay a large 

 return on this investment. The need of these marshes for truck 

 farming is more apparent now than formerly because of the great 

 increase in the number and population of some seaside resorts. 

 Along Cape Cod and much of the Massachusetts coast the uplands 

 have not the fertility needed for successful gardening. Much better 

 results can be had from these marshes when drained than from the 

 higher lands. In man}' places the gro\\nng of fresh vegetables in the 

 immediate vicinity of town, requires the reclamation of marshes, and 

 they are proving well adapted to this use. Asparagus grows Anth 

 unusual vigor in such soil, and in places near Boston excellent crops 

 are being produced where the marshes are occasionall}^ flooded with 

 sea water. Celer}^ does excellentlj^ in some localities, but has failed, 

 for reasons not well understood, in others. Cauliflower, cabbage, 

 onions, muskmelons and watermelons, cucumbers, lettuce, sweet corn, 

 field corn, potatoes, oats, redtop, timothy, and alsike clover are all 

 crops being successfulh" grown on reclaimed marsh lands along the 

 North Atlantic coast; onions, celery, asparagus, cucumbers, and mel- 

 ons being the most profitable crops. 



For many years the tide marshes of the South Atlantic coast were 

 largely devoted to rice growing, and this is still llio most important 

 use of these areas, but changes in the flow of the rivers, which have 

 taken place as the result of the removal of the forests and from other 

 causes not so well understood, are bringing about a change in these 

 lands, under whicii they are being more and more converted into 

 truck farms. Asparagus, peas, potatoes, lettuce, beans, and cabbage 

 are being raised in large quantities and shipped to the northern 



