on Mosquito Extermination. 47 



to work, and warm. From their low position, water is gener- 

 ally abundant, or easy to obtain for irrigation by pumping or 

 diversion from nearby streams. 



Swamp lands and tide marshes are considered the most val- 

 uable of lands in the world's older countries. Their inherent 

 fertility is recognized, and the ease with which they are culti- 

 vated and irrigated is greatly appreciated. In England, for 

 two hundred years the tide lands have been under reclamation, 

 and to-day over 1,000,000 acres are in "a matchless state of 

 fertility." 



In Holland extensive areas have been reclaimed from the 

 sea. The greater part of the country lies at or below the level 

 of the sea, and is reclaimed from a jungle of swamps and 

 savannas. Holland to-day represents one of the most successful 

 attempts at swamp reclamation. Lakes have been drained by 

 dyking and pumping, and plans are now on foot to drain 

 the Zuyder Zee, an arm of the ocean. 



In our own country swamp reclamation has been carried 

 out on a large scale in the Middle Western States. Ohio, In- 

 diana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin have great areas of 

 productive land once swamp, but now the most fertile and 

 reliable land in those States. The tide marshes around Puget 

 Sound in Washington have been lying untouched until within 

 the last few years, but the recent great influx of Scandinavians 

 has resulted in a movement toward the reclamation of these 

 lands, and excellent farms are being established. 



In California one of the greatest areas of swamp peat 

 land in the world lies in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. 

 Over 1,500,000 acres of peat from 6 to 40 feet thick are ready 

 for reclamation. Small areas have been farmed for 40 years 

 without reduction in productive capacity, and to-day large areas 

 are being reclaimed. Yields of 500 bushels of potatoes, 6,000 

 pounds of asparagus, 60 bushels of barley and oats have been 

 common, and with proper farming such yields should continue 

 to be common. 



Wherever properly reclaimed swam.p lands are found their 

 fertility is recognized ; almost without exception they are more 

 fertile than surrounding uplands. They are frequently used 

 in special crop production, such as in growing celery, aspara- 

 gus, cranberries, or onions, but in dairying or general farm- 

 ing they are unexcelled as permanent pasture or hay land. The 



