THE MARSH DIKED IN. 337 



racadows,— and the second on the 25th of June, — just before 

 the cutting of the grasses. On the first occasion, I enjoyed 

 the valuable assistance and kind hospitality of George M. 

 Baker, Esq., the member of this Board from the Marsh- 

 field Agricultural Society, and of Dr. Henry, of Marshtield. 

 On the second occasion, I had the advantage of being accom- 

 panied by the Hon. Charles L. Flint, Secretary of this 

 Board. On the first occasion, though early in the spring 

 (April 14), I found the reclaimed marshes in almost every 

 direction easy of access. Small pools of water were, how- 

 ever, not of unfrcquent occurrence. The meadows had been 

 burned over in some places during the preceding fall. The 

 numerous ditches for drainage, apparently constructed with- 

 out reference to any geueral plan, were, to a considerable 

 extent, in a bad condition, and could thus only in part accom- 

 plish their object. The water of the river and its tributaries 

 stood from four to five feet below the level of the adjoining 

 meadows. The exposed banks of the river showed that the 

 surface portion of the soil of the marshes consisted of a vary- 

 ing number of layers of a dark, grayish soil, and of vegetable 

 matter. The latter was apparently due to a series of succes- 

 sive periods of growth at different levels of the marshes. 

 The buried vegetation showed marked signs of disintegration 

 wherever it had been exposed to the freshening action of the 

 atmospheric precipitation of moisture and the influence of air 

 and light. 



Encouraged by the general aspect of the reclaimed lands, 

 I suggested a few actual trials, with various garden crops, 

 etc., during the coming season. 



As the successful cultivation of most farm crops upon sea- 

 marshes is known to depend to a controlling degree on the 

 exclusion and subsequent removal of the oceanic waters, I 

 decided to begin my investigation with an examination re- 

 garding the character of the water which permeated the sub- 

 soil at a depth of from three to four feet. The samples which 

 served for analysis were collected at the close of the month 

 of May, at a time when neither winter moisture nor summer 

 evaporation could seriously have affected its natural concen- 

 tration. The analyses were carried out merely with reference 



43 



