ESSEX SOCIETY. 37 



two to eight feet deep, a cold, boggy swamp, partly covered 

 with bushes, and the rest producing a little poor grass. I first 

 cut an outlet across the public road, and then ditched the lot, 

 which was quite expensive ; but the muck was a good compen- 

 sation. My next process with a part of it, was to cover it with 

 sand, or sandy loam, which cost, for one acre, fourteen days' 

 labor of one man, and one yoke of oxen and cart. Most of this 

 work was done in the spring, before the frost was out of the 

 meadow ; harrowing, at different times, about two days. 



Compost manure, about twelve cart loads, of forty bushels 

 each, was next applied, composed of three-fourths sandy loam, 

 and one-fourth manure, from the barn cellar, with leached ashes 

 in an equal proportion. On this I sowed one-half of a bushel 

 of grass seed, in 1844. The remaining six acres did not re- 

 quire so much outlay as this, and therefore the above is more 

 than an average outlay. On some of it, I had a good crop of 

 grass at first, without any other manure than leached ashes, 

 spread on, about one hundred and fifty bushels to an acre, and 

 seeded in the spring uf the year, with uatsand grass seed. Most 

 of this has given a crop of one and a half, to two and a half 

 tons of grass per acre. I think much benefit is derived from 

 harrowing in the spring, when the frost is leaving such land. I 

 removed some of the turf, but do not think it necessary or prof- 

 itable. Nearly all the above meadow has yielded two crops each 

 season, for the two years past. 



The second lot — a peat meadow, was partly covered with 

 bushes, the other part producing but little grass. Mud, from 

 one to four feet deep. One acre reclaimed in 1847. A part of 

 it I covered with sand, about fifteen bushels to the rod, the other 

 part had no sand applied. It was then harrowed, while the 

 frost was leaving the ground. It was then dressed with one 

 hundred and twenty bushels leached ashes, and sowed with oats 

 and grass seed, and produced a good crop of oat straw. It has 

 since been dressed with compost manure, and I think has yield- 

 ed two tons of hay, per acre. 



On the third lot, which was partly covered with small water 

 bushes, about eighty loads of sand were hauled, in the winter 

 of 1847. Harrowed the next spring, when the frost was com- 



