378 REPOKT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



in the drainage of the neck at Charleston, S. C. The city of Charles- 

 ton is located on a tongue of land between the Ashley and Cooper 

 rivers. This land was formerl}" infested with mosquitoes and was 

 extremel}^ malarious. During the last four years the land has been 

 thoroughly drained. The report of the sanitar}' and drainage com- 

 mission of Charleston Count}^, S. C, for 1905, speaking of the results, 

 says: 



When we took charge of this territory, ponds and morasses were everywhere. The 

 Anapholes mosquito, the disseminator of malarial poison, was present by the millions. 

 The public road was almost impassable in places, and the public ditc-hes choked up 

 and more or less filled with a stagnant water, and the whole country had the appear- 

 ance of the utmost neglect, and there were but very few busines^entcrprises with the 

 exception of the fertilizer factories. To-day there are no ponds, no morasses, the 

 Anapholes has been banished, and an avenue 40 feet wide, with ditches on each side, 

 has been built to Tenmile Hill. A new town has been laid out and 100 homes are 

 being erected in this town. New dwellings and new stores are to be seen on all sides. 



William Reybold, ^\Titing from Newcastle County, Del., says: 



If, after reclaimed, marshes are kept well drained, there is less of malarial diseases 

 than when not reclaimed, and the pest of mosquitoes is almost driven away. 



A writer from Fairfax County, Va., says: 



The marshes are very little utilized, but some have been diked successfully and 

 produce good crops of hay. This matter is of such importance, and the health of the 

 tide-water region, in conjunction with its agricultural advantages, would justify the 

 Government in inaugurating some system of improvement. 



John L. Grubbs, of Henrico County, Va., says: 



There is a decided improvement in the health of the neighborhood where marshes 

 are diked and dmined. 



BEST METHODS OF RECLAMATION. 



There are three things in the reclamation of salt marsh that re- 

 quire special attention and treatment. These are: 



(1) The method of protecting the land from overflow by tide 

 waters. 



(2) The plan of internal drainage. 



(3) The treatment of the soil to rid it of the excess of salt. 



The usual, and probably the best means, of protecting a marsh 

 from the overflow of the tide is an earthen embankment constructed 

 of the material found along the line of the work. Tlie location, size, 

 and character of this embankment are of the utmost importance, as 

 upon its efficiency and stability depend the success of the reclama- 

 tion. Practically all the failures in reohiiming marsiies in both this 

 countrj' and Europe have been due to the lack of proper precautions 

 in the construction of embankments. 



