133 MIDDLESEX SOCIETY. 



[Statements, respecting the farms of Robert Chaffin and 

 Edwin Wheeler, were published in the last year's volmne of 

 Transactions of Agricultural Societies.] 



Reclaimed Meadows. 



Charles Hoioe^s Statement. 



The piece of reclaimed meadow, to which I invite attention, 

 contains about six acres, with a depth of mud and peat from 

 five to twenty feet ; on a part of this 1 formerly obtained a mid- 

 dling crop of meadow hay ; the crop on the other part, being 

 so wet, was not worth cutting, except to keep down the bush- 

 es. In 1843, I commenced ditching the meadow at sufficient 

 distances to drain off the water ; I then cut off the bogs smooth 

 and carted upon the meadow from 300 to 500 loads of gravel 

 or sand per acre, at a cost of five dollars per hundred loads, and 

 of sufficient depth to kill the wild grass and bushes. I then 

 spread twenty cart loads to the acre, of compost manure, and 

 seeded it to grass in the spring and autumn. From this mead- 

 ow I have this year cut four tons of good hay to the acre, first 

 crop, and two tons the second crop. The compost manure I 

 make by carting mud into my barn yard to the depth of six 

 inches, then loam, turf, leaves, old hay, and any refuse materi- 

 als that can be rotted in one year with the plough and spade. 



Marlborough, Sept. 4, 1850. 



Williani Biickmi?ister^s Statement. 



The swamp land which I showed you, was subdued in this 

 way. I let the fire run through it three successive years, to 

 burn all that would burn on the surface, having taken care to 

 mow the brakes and the bushes each year ; by sucl; rneans, 

 many stumps were so burnt, that they were easily dug up. 



Last year, in September, I cut the roots from the pine stumps 

 as close as convenient, and piled up the wood on the ugliest 

 looking stumps, in order to burn them down to the surface by 

 means of the fuel placed upon them ; and to increase the quan- 

 tity of fuel, I piled on peat sods and the roots of the unburnt 

 brakes. 



