No. 4.] INUNDATED LANDS. 383 



tions. For the latter use it is necessary to have the fields 

 so arranged that they may be speedily and entirely flooded, 

 an arrangement which would be not at all necessary in rearing 

 other vegetables. Furthermore, with cranberry bogs it is 

 necessary to have the superficial coating composed of pure 

 sand, in order to hinder the growth of grasses and to limit 

 the disturbance of the tender and entangled vines which the 

 process of weeding entails. Where the field is to be used 

 for the culture of roots and other vegetables, the cost of 

 hauling sand, which often has to be brought from a consider- 

 able distance, would be avoided, as any ordinary arenaceous 

 soil would serve the needs. 



The principal difficulty which would be encountered in 

 bringing our deep bogs into a condition fit for garden use 

 would be found in the task of mingling a sufficient amount 

 of ordinary soil material with the muck to form a layer of 

 the required depth. It seems to me probable that it would 

 not be necessary to put more than about six inches of sandy 

 matter upon the surface, and to mingle it with an equal 

 amount of peat, to afford an earth which would be well 

 suited, when refreshed with artificial or barnyard manures, 

 for the needs of many plants. The cost of this part of the 

 preparation in small bogs where the sandy earth did not 

 have to be wheeled very far would probably not exceed forty 

 dollars per acre. Owing to the fact that the soft, peaty 

 matter will not support draught animals, at least in its 

 ordinary state, it would be necessary to till the soil with the 

 spade or with traction ploughs drawn by engines placed on 

 the firm ground. This difficulty, however, could in most 

 cases be avoided by lowering the water level of the swamp 

 so that the upper two feet or more of the peat would acquire 

 a tolerably firm character. In the mode of use of the bogs 

 which we are here considering it would be necessary to have 

 the surface of the field frequently intersected by drainage 

 ditches. In fact, these ditches would have to be at a distance 

 of not more than about one hundred feet from each other. 

 This arrangement would probably make it difficult to use 

 any form of plough culture. On the other hand, the very 

 light character of the soil which would be won on these areas 

 would make the labor of overturning the soil with the spade 

 relatively easy. 



