112 FIRESIDE SCIENCE. 



From the brief and imperfect statements pre- 

 sented, it will be conceded that wet peat meadows 

 can be profitably reclaimed and fertilized by special 

 or concentrated agents, easy and convenient to 

 handle. I shall not venture upon the expression 

 of opinions at present regarding the most effective 

 and cheapest agents, as these points are not satis- 

 factorily settled. After a few more seasons have 

 passed, the results will enable me to form a more 

 exact and reliable judgment in regard to the mat- 

 ter. The great value of our low lands is as yet 

 imperfectly understood, although attention has been 

 called to them persistently through books and the 

 agricultural press. Farmers, as a general rule, 

 fear to have anything to do with the soft peat bogs 

 so common throughout the State. Their experi- 

 ence in miring oxen and horses in attempts to 

 plough or haul on manure is not favorable to the 

 prosecution of the work of renovation. When it 

 is known that the spade will do the work of the 

 plough, and that fertilizers of great efficiency can 

 be carried in a. basket upon the shoulder, a little 

 more courage may possibly be infused into the 

 owners of such lands, and they may seek to draw 

 from them their hidden wealth by the work of 

 reclamation. It must, however, be distinctly un- 

 derstood, that all meadows are not of a character to 

 pay for any labor that may be bestowed upon them. 



