ON RECLAIMING WET LANDS. 85 



The above is a correct statement of mj treatment of low and wet 

 I land with its results. Should the committee require further partic- 

 ulars they will be cheerfully given. 



I ought to have stated that the plough used had a circular cutter 

 il attached to the roller, which did much to facihtate the work. The 

 I soil or bog before ploughing, was from two to six feet in depth, rest- 

 j ing on a hard sub-soil of sandy clay. Since ditching and gravelling, 

 l' the bog has settled a foot or more. The land was of little or no 

 value before draining. The ditches which I have covered, operate 

 so well, that I intend to cover the remainder. I filled the bottom of 

 r the ditch with small stones, te a gradual descent from the margin to 

 1 the main ditch. I then placed two rows of larger stones down the 

 ;. centre of the ditch, and covered them with the flattest that I 

 j; could select, and then covered the whole with currier's leather shav- 

 i ings, these being about a foot below the surface of the ground. 



,; STEPHEN OSBORN, Jr. 



I Danvers, Sept. 20, 1848. 



RICHARD DODGE'S STATEMENT. 



To the Committee on Meadows and Swamp Lands : 



Gentlemen, — The piece of reclaimed wet meadow which I pre- 

 sent for the consideration of the Committee, containing about two 

 acres and three quarters, was in 1838 a sunken quagmire, almost 

 entirely worthless, except for some small fuel, such as alders, blue- 

 berry bushes, brambles and grape vines, and except occasionally a 

 tree. This piece of ground is one part, which you agreed with me 

 in estimating at one and a half acres mowing ground, and one and 

 a quarter acres on the south side of the large ditch, now in corn 

 and potatoes. The last mentioned lot contained 30 cords of good 

 wood, which I cut off and sold. 



In the fall of 1838, it being dry, I burnt over the whole swamp, 

 clearing up as soon as the fire was out, all stum ps and roots that re- 

 mained unburned. The fire had burnt out many holes, as this peat 

 soil was loose and deep, and many of these holes I will say a foot or 

 a foot and a half deep. I then smoothed off all the humps, broken 

 roots, &c., filling up all the burnt holes, making the meadow 



