380 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



sent to those who would essay their improvement. From the 

 practical point of view our fresh- water swamps are, in a 

 general way, divisible into two groups : those in which the 

 peat deposit is so thin that the under-soil may, after the 

 construction of drainage ditches and the lapse of time suf- 

 ficient to induce a certain amount of dryness, be stirred by 

 the plough so as to mingle the decayed vegetable matter 

 with sufficient true soil material to constitute a fertile earth ; 

 and those in which the peaty coating is so thick that this 

 immediate utilization of the area is impossible. For the 

 improvement of the first class of soils the prescription is 

 very simple. All that is necessary is to provide drainage 

 ditches of sufficient depth and width and steepness of 

 descent to permit the rain-water, even in heavy storms and 

 in the winter season, to pass away. The sectional area of 

 these ditches and the slope of their floors afford a problem 

 which has to be specially treated for each area. It is worth 

 while, however, to remark that failures in such improvements 

 are most likely to occur where the artificial water-ways are 

 too narrow and of insufficient form. If water is allowed to 

 stand in them during the growing season, they are almost 

 certain within a few years to become closed by the growth 

 of vegetable matter of a peaty nature. 



Where, as is the case with most large swamps, the peaty 

 layer is too thick for the direct use of the plough, it is neces- 

 sary, in order to fit the area for ordinary tillage, to carry the 

 ditches to below the level of the sheet and well into the 

 underlying layers of rocky detritus. When this work has 

 been accomplished, the removal of the peat has in general 

 to be brought about in either of two ways : by awaiting the 

 natural decay, which in a somewhat rapid manner will bring 

 about the destruction of the sheet, or by burning the layer 

 in times of drouth. Where, however, as is often the case, 

 there are fields underlaid by sand, and therefore lacking in 

 vegetable matter, the peat can often be advantageously con- 

 veyed to points where it will serve to refresh the soil. 

 Although in certain instances bogs containing thick deposits 

 of peat may profitably be reclaimed, there are reasons why, 

 in the present state of our agriculture, it is not generally 

 worth while to essay the task of winning them to ordinary 



