608 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 
neglect will result in a general overflow of the reclaimed land and a probable 
destruction of valuable property. The best provision that can be made against an 
overflow from a neglected or defective sluice-gate is the use of pumps exclusively for 
the drainage of tidal marshes. A considerable saving is also effected by using a pump, 
as fuel can be economically used and only when required, while the cost of pumping 
from one station will be much less than sluicing from a dozen points, when a larger 
staff of workmen is required. 
The general plan of the ditches and drains is regulated as much by the location of 
the outfall as by the actual wants of the land. The object being to remove the water 
as quickly as possible from the place where it accumulates, and by that means to save 
every inch of the fall, the ditches should be laid out with that object, and every part 
of the tract to be drained should be connected with the outfall as directly as possible. 
It is also desirable to keep a current flowing through the ditches to the outfall as uni- 
formly constant as possible, so that no deposit can occur in the drain to obstruct the 
passage of the water. This uniformity of motion and direction cannot be obtained by 
the use of sluices, or rather can be obtained by no other means than by pumping-power, 
which has no cause for stoppage by reason of the ebb and flow of a tide, the etiect of 
prevailing winds, or any other obstacle to the free and constant flow of water through 
a sluice-way. F 
By the use of pemps a uniform and unbroken line of embankment is presented to the 
outside water, having no weak places to cause a fear for its stability, no wood-work to 
rot away, iron-worls to corrode, or masonry to be destroyed. Complete control is ob- 
tained over all accumulations of water that may occur after rain storms; a deeper 
drainage of the land is possible, as the level of low-water outside does not affect the 
operation ; and in the case of heavy rains due preparation can be made by the engineer 
to deal with the water, for when the barometer indicates a change of weather or the . 
approach of astorm he can pump his ditches dry if necessary, and keep the water very 
low during the heaviest rains; on the other hand, the pump need not be worked more 
than one day in the week during dry weather. When certain conditions favor the 
adoption of the sluice in preference to the pump, it is wise to adopt that system; there 
are some cases where no choice can be exercised. ‘ 
Where springs are fonnd on these marshes, either isolated or in groups, it is proper to 
connect them with a main drain through a lateral] ditch; and when found in groups to 
surround them with a ditch by which their waters may be removed as fast as dis- 
charged, and not permitted to saturate the soil for any distance around. 
The removal of water from the soil for agricultural purposes is the last and most im- 
portant condition to be fulfilled in the work of reclamation. The fitting of soil suchas 
is found on our marsh lands for the reception of suitable crops calls for the exercise of 
considerable skill on the part of the agriculturist. He finds a virgin soil in the forma- 
tion of which almost every fertilizing element is employed. His experience of upland 
farming may be very extensive ; but here he has land that requires peculiar treatment, 
but no manure, no invigoration, to call forth its productiveness; nothing except the 
ditching tool and the plow, and the farmer’s personal care and management, is required 
to achieve success equal to the highest expectations. 
An excess of moisture in a soil hurts vegetation by keeping the temperature of tho 
subsoil low, and weakening the effect on the plants of the various chemical constituents 
that assist in the development and support of vegetable life. The remedy for this 
evil must necessarily be drainage. The absence of a proper moisture is equally dam- 
aging to vegetation, as many of these chemical constituents of soils are brought into 
active operation by the water in the soil and the vitality of the plant is thereby sus- 
tained. Water is the principal constituent of the sap of plants, and its absence in 
proper quantity must cause an exhaustion to the vegetable similar to that produced in 
the animal life by loss of blood. The want of natural moisture is usually supplied 
artificially by what is known as irrigation. We must seek a mean between the two 
conditions of excess and total absence of moisture, in order to arrive at that in which 
a soil is best fitted for the production of a healthy vegetation. 
Some*soils, owing to their formation, will retain moisture more readily than 
others, and, therefore, require a different style of cultivation. Sandy soils are dry 
and represent the opposite extreme to the marsh in point of humidity. This is due to 
the composition of the soil. Sand, being purely granicular, permits water to pass 
easily through it until it sinks to the level of some denser substratum. Marsh soil, 
especially alluvial or vegetable deposit, is absorbent; its particles are so minute as tu 
form a closer and more compact combination not easily penetrated by any foreign mat- 
ter moved by the force of gravity alone, insoluble, and possessing in a high degree the 
property of inducing capillary attraction. Nothing but deep incisions into the surface 
of this soil creates that positive disconnection of the mass which is necessary for the 
liberation of the water held in the soil by the sponge-like substance which enters so 
largely into its composition. ; 
The low situation of marshes and bogs is not a reason for the presence in excess of 
moisture in their soils. In many instances these bogs are found on the tops of high 
