ME A 



ME A 



267 



Marshes are certainly the rich- 

 est of our lands, as appears by the 

 astonishing degree of fruitfulness, 

 apparent in those pieces froni 

 which the sea has been excluded 

 by dikes. Marsh may be so far 

 improved by diking and tillage, 

 without manuring, that instead of 

 producing less than one ton of salt 

 hay per acre, it shall produce three 

 tons of the best kinds of hay. The 

 value of this soil must needs be 

 great, as it is not exhausted by 

 cropping, and needs no manure, 

 unless it be sand, or some other 

 cheap substance, to dry and harden 

 it. 



Some marshes require a dike 

 to exclude the sea, long in propor- 

 tion to the land it contains ; others 

 a short one, as where the marsh is 

 narrowest towards the sea. He 

 that possesses a marsh of the latter 

 kind, can undertake no business 

 that will be more profitable than 

 diking it. Two men can easily 

 build a rod of dike upon high marsh 

 in a day. Through the hollows 

 and creeks, more work will be re- 

 quired. 



If a marsh, after it is diked, 

 should be rather too wet for til- 

 lage, a ditch should be made round 

 by the upland to cut off the fresh 

 water, both above and below the 

 surface, and lead it to the outlet 

 or sluice. See Dike, and Sluice. 



MATTOCK, a pickaxe. This 

 is a useful instrument in sinking 

 wells, digging trenches, ditches, 

 &c. 



MEADOW, grass land for mow- 

 ing. In this country the word is 

 seldom used to signify upland 

 mowing ground, but that which is 



low and moist, and seldom or never 

 ploughed. In other countries it is 

 the name of all mowing grounds. 



Too much or too httle moisture 

 is hurtful to these meadows, 'i'hose 

 that are apt to be too wet should 

 be made drier by ditching or by 

 draining, if it be practicable. They 

 may be made drier also by spread- 

 ing sand, gravel, or coal dust, upon 

 them : At the same time, their 

 fruitfulness will be increased, and 

 better kinds of grass may be intro- 

 duced. 



When they are become dry, 

 they should be ploughed and till- 

 ed, if the soil be not a tough clay 

 with only an inch or two of black 

 mould above it. In this case, I 

 think a low meadow should not be 

 ploughed at all. Instead of plough- 

 ing, perhaps, it would be better to 

 cut away the hillocks and uneven- 

 nesses ; which by rotting in heaps, 

 or burning, may be converted into 

 good manure for the soil. And to 

 increase the thickness of good soil, 

 let sand and other earths, with 

 dung, be spread over it. 



When the soil is a loose crum- 

 bly clay, such as is found under 

 some meadows, such a meadow 

 may be converted to tillage land 

 with great advantage. 



Flooding in the spring not only 

 enriches the soil of meadows, but 

 makes them bear a sharp drought 

 better. It causes the grass to 

 grow so rapidly that the soil is 

 sooner screened from the scorch- 

 ing heat of the sun. 



Particular care should be always 

 taken to keep cattle out of mea- 

 dows in the spring and fall, when 

 they are very wet and soft. For 



