110 FIRESIDE SCIENCE. 



vation of the bog above the level of Lake Kenoza, 

 upon which it borders, is only nine inches in the 

 winter and spring, when the lake is at its highest 

 altitude ; consequently, it is an unpromising and 

 difficult field upon which to experiment with the 

 view of driving out worthless meadow grasses. 

 Indeed, no one in whose judgment I placed con- 

 fidence would afford me any encouragement to 

 expect success. It was regarded as impossible to 

 renovate meadows which for so large a part of the 

 year were almost submerged, and which could not 

 be drained. Nevertheless, the experiment has 

 proved successful, and crops already secured have 

 paid all the expenses of renovation and treatment. 

 Upon two acres of the six which are now produc- 

 ing upland grasses, a coating of sand three inches 

 in thickness was placed, after thoroughly spading 

 and pulverizing the bog ; upon this a dressing, 

 made of equal parts of fine bone and ashes, two 

 thousand pounds in quantity, was evenly distribu- 

 ted, and it was then seeded down with redtop and 

 timothy, and covered in with a brush harrow. The 

 work was done in the months of August and Sep- 

 tember, 1866. The first crop of hay in 1867 was 

 a little more than one and a half tons to the acre, 

 the succeeding crop was two and a half tons, and 

 those which have since been taken from the field 

 have averaged about the same amount. One acre 



