HAMPDEN SOCIETY 141 



its way so long, it required some castigation before it would 

 become obedient to wholesome restraint. 



The first thing done, was to cut ditches in such a man- 

 ner as to drain off the stagnant water from the low places. 

 These were stoned up and covered, (under drains,) after which 

 the land was broken up. I say broken up, for it was impossible 

 to plough it so as to turn over the sod. Sometimes the plough 

 would take a piece of turf, six feet by ten, and skin it off. In 

 this way I went over the piece, ploughing it as deep as possible, 

 mixing the mud with the gravel underneath, the sub-soil and 

 dirt from the knolls. This was done in the fall of the year, 

 and to the great amusement of some, to think I should plough 

 such a piece of land. 



In the spring, I harrowed thoroughly, spending nearly a day 

 on it, then ploughed and harrowed again, after which I ridged 

 it. The land was then planted to potatoes, and produced 165 

 bushels. The next spring it was sowed to oats and grass-seed. 

 It yielded 40 bushels of oats. After taking off the crops each 

 year, I drew off the stones, and made of them a wall near by, 

 twenty rods in length. The stones were worth double the cost 

 of getting them off, and were mostly invisible before I com- 

 menced reclaiming the land. In the spring, after it was seeded 

 down, I gave it a top-dressing of 20 loads of manure. This 

 was last season, (1845) and, though very dry, I cut over 1| tons 

 of first-rate quality of hay, herdsgrass, red-top and clover; 

 after which, it produced as much feed as any four acres of 

 mowing land on my farm. The present season, it yielded two 

 tons of hay and a good crop of rowen. 



It must be recollected, that this is on land where we do not 

 usually cut but one crop in a year, and are glad to get that. 

 This laud is now smooth and level, though formerly so rough 

 as hardly to permit a cart to be driven over it. It was then 

 worth next to nothing ; I now consider it worth more than any 

 other acre on my farm. To bring it to its present condition, 

 required some courage, with a due proportion of faith and hope. 

 These were brought freely into exercise, and while it cost much 

 hard labor, a full return has been received, in addition to the crops, 

 by the pleasure it affords in seeing a spot so depraved now so 



