MARSH AND SWAMP. 7 



which they are best suited. It is therefore necessary to make a care- 

 ful determination of the character of soil and subsoil material in 

 each area, and of the possibility of raising intensively farmed or ex- 

 tensively farmed crops upon the lands when freed from surplus 

 water. The position of the Swamp with respect to climate, and par- 

 ticularly with regard to transportation facilities to market, will 

 control to a large degree the amount of profit per acre which may be 

 anticipated from the land. Upon peaty or mucky swamp soils, where 

 such intensively farmed crops as cabbage, onions, celery, pepper- 

 mint, or cranberries may be produced a considerable outlay in the 

 drainage and clearing of the Swamp may be profitably assumed. In 

 other cases where corn or small grains may be grown, an inter- 

 mediate amount of expenditure is justified, but in many cases the 

 swamp land when drained and cleared will only be competent to 

 produce grass for the cutting of hay or for grazing purposes. Under 

 such circumstances a smaller expenditure per acre is justified than 

 in either of the former cases. Even with a large expenditure the 

 great fertility of the drained land and its high producing capacity 

 for grass have given rise to fair profits from the reclamation of the 

 lands. For the purpose of grazing or of hay cutting the returns per 

 acre are usually sufficient to pay a good interest upon a total valuation 

 of $75 to $100 per acre upon well managed areas. 



It is thus apparent that with all classes of Marsh, Tidal marsh, 

 and Swamp there are several factors which must be determined before 

 the reclamation of any particular area is decided upon. The first 

 of these will be the character of the soil over the reclaimed area and 

 its adaptation to special and general farm crops. The second is the 

 proximity to market or the transportation facilities, since the profits 

 to be derived from the reclamation of the land will depend largely 

 upon the sale price of the crops grown. The third point to be con- 

 sidered is that of the engineering feasibility of the drainage of the 

 Swamp and the probable cost per acre of such drainage when com- 

 pleted. It is also necessary to consider the first cost of the land, 

 and in this connection the probable rise in the land value, as a result 

 of drainage, to be reckoned with the annual profit per acre in esti- 

 mating the total profits to be derived from the drainage operation. 

 It is also desirable to consider the sanitary relationship of drainage 

 with respect to the general health of the community. 



It has been found, in many cases, that the newly drained areas of 

 Swamp are not, capable of producing the best crops the first year or 

 two after they have been drained and cleared. In those areas where 

 the surface soil contains a large amount of partly decayed vegetable 

 matter the application of considerable quantities of coarse stable 

 manure has proven highly beneficial. It has also been found, both 

 in the low-lying and swampy soils of the Atlantic seaboard and in 



