46 Proceedings of the First Convention 



letter. In our crusade we have endeavored to show the im- 

 portance of reclaiming marshes for commercial purposes and 

 the government has made examinations to show the value of 

 the soil. If we are correct in our argument on the value of 

 marsh lands for commercial purposes, we have gained a great 

 point. 



VALUE OF RECLAIMED SWAMP LANDS FOR 

 AGRICULTURAL USES. 



Letter of Prof. Milton Whitney. 

 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 



BUREAU OF SOILS, 



Washington, D. C. 

 Milton Whitney, Chief. 



December 5, 1903. 



Dear Sir: In reply to your recent request for information 

 upon the value of reclaimed swamp land for agricultural uses, 

 I submit the following general statement : 



Swamp lands, by virtue of their position, become the re- 

 pository of highly fertile material washed from the uplands 

 by the rains. As a general rule, the immediate surface of any 

 soil is the most fertile portion of that soil, resulting from the 

 fact that this surface material is in better physical condition, 

 and most exposed to the action of the weather, the sun, rains, 

 and air. This surface is the first portion removed during rains, 

 and is the portion carried down into the swamps and deposited. 

 When erosion goes on at such a rapid rate that both the sur- 

 face and the underlying raw soil are washed away, the result- 

 ing bottom land deposit is frequently sterile. Witness the 

 mud fiats and swamps along the Sacramento River in Cali- 

 fornia, which have been covered with mud from the hydrau- 

 lic mines of the Sierra Nevadas. Here large areas have been 

 ruined by the mud, and will not become fertile until the wea- 

 ther has acted upon the material long enough to make the soil 

 an acceptable medium for plant growth. Fortunately, most 

 of our lowlands and swamps receive only the more gentle 

 washings or the most fertile materials from the uplands. 



Swamp lands contain an unusual amount of organic matter, 

 and for that reason are easy to maintain in proper tilth, light 



