78 



^l)c i^avmcv's illcintl)Iij vimm 



niucli coufideiice that the tunning husiiiess will 

 leoL'ive :i very |)erci;|ui!)le iiiipulsc. We notice 

 panigiiiphs iii t^evi-nil [iiipers, to the cfl'cct thiit 

 tlie leiitlier niiiiKiliiclurcrs in unions piulsof this 

 connrrv are ujiticijialiii^' a vciy profitahie niarliet 

 in Kngkind, and that lh(.' aiticlo of leatlier will 

 i'orni a nini'h lai;.'er il»iii in <nn' (jxpoits. 



VVc nolice Ihal the new l'^nj;li.sh Tariff makes 

 its fav'oralilu disci itiiinaiioii on leather fanncf/ lint 

 nolfmishcil. This fiives a lai'^re advantage to the 

 chief lahor and ia|)ilal eni)doji.'d in this manu- 

 facture. Shijuld the expiclrd hencfil he real- 

 ized, it will he of };reiite|- importance to the new- 

 er part of iVov Knjiland, uhar<- the liemlock is 

 slill ahiindant and cheap. l''or some years 

 past, the larj;est and most vahiahlu tanning es- 

 talilishnients in Maine, have been tending to the 

 interior, especially above tide waters on the Keii- 

 neheck and I'enohscot rivers. Jn the unsettled 

 connij'y on those rivers, the hendock forests are 

 almost inexhaiislihie, and it is deemed a profila- 

 hle arrangement to place the tanning cslahlish- 

 nielit as near as may he to the supply of hem- 

 lock, so long as there can be le.-iscniable facihies 

 for getting the majinliictmcd article to market. 

 The taiming est.ahlishmenis nearer the sea board 

 have the a<lvantago of readier access to market, 

 to comitervail the higher price of hark. — Purl- 

 land Jldv. 



Boiling Potatoes. — Not one housekeeper 

 out of ten knows how to boil potatoes properly. 

 Here is an Irish method, one of the best we 

 know. Clean wiisli the polalocs and leave the 

 skin on, then bring the waiitr to a boil and throw 

 then) in. As soon as boiled soft enough for a 

 foi k to be easily ihi'nst through them, dash some 

 cold water into tli(^ pot, let the potatoes remain 

 two minutes, and then pour off the water. This 

 dojie, half remove the pot lid and let the potatoes 

 remain over a slow lire till the steam is evapora- 

 ted, then peel and set them on the table in an 

 open dish. I'olatoes of a gcod kind thus cook- 

 ed, will always be sueet, dry, tmil meal}'. A 

 covered dish is^bail for potatoes, as it keeps the 

 steam in, and ii akes them soft and watery. 



Wisconsin is a mojislrons territory, beino- 1200 

 miles loiii: and 200 miles wide — about si.x times 

 larger than the state of New York. It is pro- 

 posed to divide this Territory bef(ji(^ it is made a 

 Slate — leaving oiily oOO by 200 miles of lower 

 Wisconsin to lib incorporated into the Union of 

 the States. It is proposed to give the name of 

 Superiof to the new 'J'errilory. 



Public Lands in the Nokth West. — The 

 nmouiit of public lands nol included in pr(;scnt 

 districts lying iji the north Western Territory 

 east of the rocky IMoinnains, and exclusive of 

 the ceded Lanrls in Iowa, is nearly ."JOO.OOO.OOO 

 acres. The Oregon Terriioiy to 4!)lli (hi^ree of 

 north latilmle, contains 2l8,.S8G,3-^0 acres. To 

 5-lili degree 40 minutes, .303,170,3-20 acres. Tlie 

 British Governmeia claim to the 49th degree, 

 while the Uniii'd Stales claim to ,>lih di^gree 40 

 minutes. This slateinent shows that the coun- 

 try ill dispute on the Oregon houndary, embraces 

 104,640,000 acres— a terriioiy about twice as 

 large as the Slate of New \'orlc. 



Recl.-uiniii? Swamps. 



To the Pitsidinl. and Slandiitfr Committee of Ihc 



Jlliode Islinid Soniclij fur the Encourniremtnt of 



Domestic Indimtri/ : 



Gi:.nti.i;mk.n — In the remarks which follow, I 

 have attempted to give the results of my experi- 

 ence in feclaiining peat swamps, in which I have 

 been very successful. 



Agriculture has been the principal business of 

 my lili;. Being a practical liu-mer, I have made 

 many cx|;eriinenls in llie raising of vegetables and 

 the use of manure ; hut I will now give niy views 

 upon the recl.iiining of low land by the (tonslriic- 

 lioii of blind diiebes, in which I have bad i 

 years experience. 



On my linni there were several cold, wet 

 swamps, the income of which would ii'Jt pay the 

 ex|ienses of hauling tin: (viltle out of the mire in 

 the spring, whin they are so anxious to get the 

 green grass that grows in the mud holes. To 

 prevent my callle from getting miriNl, I caused 

 ditches to be dug through the swamp and left 

 open, 'i'hisdid not, however, jireveiit the caiile 

 geliiug mired, nor improve tin- <pialiiv of the 



many 



grass, except for a few feet from the ditches. I 

 endeavored to keeji the ditches open, but they 

 only answered the purpose of carrying off the 

 rail; water, and left all the cold s|n iiig vvater,tliat 

 I desired to get rid of. Where subnu'ianeaii 

 ditches have been properly made and covered, 

 there has not been the least dilliculty in ridding 

 the swamps of spring water. Swamps thus 

 drained, b.ive never been affected by wet sea- 

 .sons; in fact, some of my swamps, which were 

 once beds of mire in tlies|iring oi' the year, may 

 now be plowed and planted as early as any other 

 land. 



I commenced my experiments in fSiO. I had 

 a cold wet swamp, containing about one acre of 

 land, lying before my house, which yielded a 

 heavy hmllien of coarse swamp grass, intermixed 

 with rushes, skunk cabbage, and other noxious 

 weeds. This crop was only fit for bedding for 

 cattle. In the spring of the year, the swamp was 

 a bed of mire: lor many years I iiad one ditch 

 through il, and frcfpienlly two or three, but lliey 

 neither drained the swamp, nor ini|iroved the 

 grass. Previous to underdraining, 1 had fre- 

 quently carted s.atid and gravel on to the swamp, 

 which was dish /iuni, lowest iii the centre, hut 

 with very lillle effect. 



The swamp being near my house, was quite 

 ofti!iisive, and believed to be nnheallhy: illliere- 

 fore became important that it should he reclaim- 

 ed. By sounding, I found that the mud was 

 deepest in the centre; I then caused a main 

 ditch 2 1-2 feet wide, to he dug through the cen- 

 tre of the swamp, and deep enough to take the 

 U[iper wiiter-coiirscs. Small ditches were then 

 dug from the spring holes to the main iliteli. The 

 ditches were then all filled with stones cast in 

 promiscuously, but deep enough to he out of the 

 reach of the plough. The stones were then level- 

 ed, and well covered with coarsR hay, dry sea- 

 weed, &c., to prevent the earth fmding its way 

 among the stones tluKS deposited ; the earth 

 which had been taken out of the ditch was then 

 cast hack. 



After this preparation, I proceeded wiili one- 

 fourth of an acre as liillows: I collected a quan- 

 tity of small bushes and weed.s, sea weeds and 

 other rubbish, and commenced plowiiiir the 

 swiuiip wiili two yoke of oxen. Having phivved 

 one furrow, I filled it wilh the brush, sea-weed, 

 &c., and tinned the iu;xt furrow iipmi it. I pro- 

 ceeded thus until the entire quarter of an acre 

 had been plowed and treated like the first liirrow. 



This may be by some thought to be small 

 work, hut 1 have made it a ride and advised 

 others when they were to try experiments, to try 

 small ones. If they succeeded, they could in- 

 cre:.se : if they lidled, they would lose little. 



The ground thus plowed was then cut and 

 leveled wiiii the bog hoe and harrow, anil twelve 

 cartloads of cmnpost manure spretid on. Il was 

 then sowed down in September of that year.with 

 six poimils of small clover, six quarts of herds- 

 grass, and one bushel of bent seed. In the July 

 Ibllowing, 1831, 1 cut from this tpiarterof an acre, 

 one Ion of hay at a single culling, wbii-li was 

 snlHcient, besides pajiiig the cost of' culling and 

 curing, to pay the entire expense of reclaiming 

 and preparing the laud on which it grew. Il may 

 be well to stale that hay was that year worth •s3'0 

 per toil. 



The remainder of the swamp could not well be 

 plowed and prepared at llie same time. I howev- 

 er carted on sand and gravel to kill the foul grass 

 lliat was not dcslroycd by llie bog-hoe, the same 

 lidl and in June, 1S31. 1 p'lit on compost manure 

 at the rate of ."JO loads to the acre, and proceeded 

 as before with bog-hoe and harrow. 1 sowed oats 

 with grass seed. The oats grew very large, were 

 mowed in their green state and taken oIK The 

 young grass grew so large the same year, that 

 some of it was mowed. Since that time, it has 

 been mowed every year, ami the whole swamp 

 has iimde an average yearly crofi of three tons of 

 hay per acre. I'^ir four years, nothing was done 

 to ihe land. Since ihal time it has annually had 

 a light dressing of manure. The clover run out 

 after the first year, e.xiH'pt oyer the ditches, where 

 il slill remains. The herdsgrass Jind bent, or 

 burden, were the principal grasses ; the herds- 

 grass growing to a monstrous size, prodnciiig 

 some heads measuring 13 inches in lenglh. 

 livery three years this acre of land pays the en- 

 tire expense w hich has been laid out oil il, besides 

 tho cost of culture, manure, &c. 



Ill 1835, I partially recluiined and cultivated a 



second swamp, to great advantage. In Ihis 

 swamp, the mud was found to l)e deepest under 

 the banks, which i.-* generally the case where the 

 banks are high. Here the ilitches are iiiaile on 

 the margin of the swamp ; but in all cases th'e-t^ 

 must be tiill enough to carry off the cold spring 

 w;iter. In digging ditches, they should be dug 

 deep enough to take the first water-courses: 

 these are generally liiimil at the pan or subsoil. 

 To be certain and to make the lahor effectual, it 

 i.s well to dig from 4 to G inches into the pan, to 

 give the spring water a passage; it will then rise 

 and mil olf iimmig the .stones in the ditches. 



I commenced three years ago on a third swainp, ' 

 where I wished to reclaim four acres. Tbi.':, or 

 a part of it, was peat : the ditches were therefore 

 reipiiied to be cut six feet deep: on a small ejUVfio, 

 of the swamp the dilches were two rods affaihp'-- 

 It is prcdridile that twice that distance would liavi 

 answered, but having plenty of stone at band,ani. I * 

 wishing to make thorough work, they werfi ( 

 placed niiarer together. On this part, w Inch win 

 about three ipiarUu-s of an acre, no animal coul.l 

 find a footing — hence all was done by manniil 

 labor, wilh spade, bng-hoe, &c. The stones wer^ 

 wheeled in on planks, and deposited and covereii 

 in the ditches, tis in the former cases. In 1849, i^ 

 was impossible lor an ox to walk over this latiil; 

 yet in ilie spring of 1843, it wa^ ploughed aiii 

 planted. Manure was carted on wiihoui the least 

 inconvenience. On the last of iAIay, three ncrf, 

 were planted with potatoes, and a "tine crop wta 

 obtained. Among these were planted for exper- 

 iment, corn, pumpkins, encumbers, s(piaslie.-, 

 iiirnips, &c., all of which grew vigoioiisly aeJ 

 ripened. 



On the 2Ist and 29d of June, 1844, two aerfs 

 of this reclaimed land was sown with millet aid 

 grass seed — 12 quarts of millet and one bushel >f 

 herdsgrass with other grass seed to the acre, tii 

 the 1st of September the crop was harvestel. 

 The millet had grown to an enormons size, tie 

 toj) heads iis it stood, measuring six feet in hcigll ; 

 it was judged by the reapers, and by those wio 

 saw the field, that from 8 to 10 tons of fodd:r 

 would he proiliiced on the two acres. Tliii:^ 

 bushels of seed were obtained from the topA^catioi. 

 The reinainder of the reclaimed land was plar- 

 eil priiii-ipally with potatoes, more than li.dfif 

 which were rolleii.tliongb not more so than tline 

 raised on other land on my farm, and by ny 

 neighbors. 



The expen.se of reclaiming and manurin;T nil 

 not be lar from one hundred dollars per acre. 



I have long been of the opinion that swniips 

 are our most valuable lands. The ontlav iiecs- 

 sary for reclaiming them, prevents their eiiltuie; 

 but my ex|)erieiice has proved to my salisfacton 

 that where thine is tiill enough to drain a swtiiip, 

 they will produce more clear prolit than my 

 other lands I have ever enliivatcd, even allow tig 

 the expense of underdraining, manure .-.nil rjl- 

 tivation to be SlOO per acre. Before iinderdr.'ji- 

 iiig, these lands are worth but a trifle. I line 

 sold from one acre of reclaimed swainp, tl.'ee 

 tons of hay at S20 per ton, from a single mow ' 5. 



I would remark, that casting the sloiies i: to 

 the ditches promiscuously, is much the be.-st. nr 

 it permits the water tp enter without anyih- 

 sliuclion, and to find its way through them, ;i>(l 

 it will keep iiself in gonil order ; if I could l.;i'0 

 a stone box put in at the same expense, 1 slm M 

 preliir to have the stones cast in promisi'uoii; ly. 

 After one of these ditches had been leade iwiive 

 )ears, I opened it fur the purpose of ilia'li;,;ig 

 its course. The stones were perfectly clean t id 

 not in the least'obstructcd by mini. 



It sliouhl be recollected that these nro Miul 

 ditches, and that they should he closed at hn 

 lounlain or head, and no natural stream shij|>l(l 

 be permittc-d to run into them. 



The subscriber would invite the commlinn"\'tI 

 view the hog meadows or swamps w hich he las 

 reclaimed williin the last fourteen years, am of 

 which he has above given the processes pill's led 

 by him. .i 



Ucspeclfullv, vour.s, \, ' 



(JIUEON SPENCF.R. 



Warwick, Nov. (1, 1841. 



[At a meeting of the Slamling Commillct i)r 

 ihe Rhode Island Society lor the Encouragciit'iu 

 of Uoineslic Industry, held Jan. 25, 181."), a vote 

 of thanks to Mr. Spencer, for the above oiiiiinu- 

 nicalioii, was passed.] 



• the .. 



