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IMPROVING WET MEADOW AND SWAMP LANDS, 



The undersigned, members of the Committee, met July 5th 

 to view a piece of meadow or swamp land entered by Mr. Sam- 

 uel Dane of Hamilton. The piece, containing about six acres 

 in all, is divided by an open ditch into two lots, measuring re- 

 spectively about four and one-half and one and one-half acres. 

 The land before being improved was a wet, soft muck ten to fif- 

 teen feet deep, about one-half wooded with old maple and pine 

 stumps, the remainder covered with bushes and brambles. It 

 emitted an offensive and Iniasmatic odor and was entirely worth- 

 less. The main ditch througli the piece above spoken of was 

 dug before Mr. Dane bought the place, as well as some other 

 ditches leading into it; but these ditches were rendered almost 

 useless by obstructions at the outlet — subsequently removed by 

 a change in the adjoining highway. 



On the small piece Mr. Dane commenced work in 1869, by 

 cutting down the hassocks and digging cross ditches to the main 

 drain at intervals of twenty-five feet. Having thus leveled and 

 drained the surface, he covered it with gravel from the adjoining 

 high lands to the depth of three- or four inches, and sowed grass 

 seed. With only this treatment and no manure of any kind, the 

 crop is stated to have been two tons per acre for each of the 

 last five years. The crop- of this year was standing, and was es- 

 timated by the Committee to come fully up to this standard. 

 Mr. Dane gives the cost of ditching, leveling etc. as $25 ; the 

 cost cost of gravelling as $45 ; cost of seed $4, and of cutting 

 and saving the hay as $5 per ton, or ^75-a total cost of $149.00 



A crop of two tons per acre an one and one-half acres 

 for five years would be fifteen tons in all, which at 

 twenty-five dollars per ton amounts to - • 375-00 



Leaving a profit of - - - - - 226.00 



