THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



consists in culling through (he high grounds or 

 elevalcd strata thai surround the swamps and pen 

 up the lake waters, drains, of sufficieiH capiu-i- 

 ly todiaw oH'the surplus rain water which in iliis 

 great basin, or laboratory of nature, has contri- 

 buted, and, indeed; IVom its agency, in a state of 

 efagnation. in nourishing, we may say generating, 

 those aqueous plants and trees from the decompo- 

 eilion ot which the earthy matter ol' the swamps 

 is entirely composed, may be said to be the cause 

 of their lormaiion. In accordance iherelbre with | 

 this plan, two canals, denominated 7nain drains, \ 

 have been laid out, one leading Irom Punijo lake , 

 lo Pungo river, the oiher leading liom Alligator j 

 lake 10 Rutman's creek, a tributary to Pungo j 

 river. Tlie former, which we will call Pungo i 

 canal, is six miles, seven hundred and eeveniy- j 

 four yards in length, with an average width, at | 

 bottom, of twenty-two leet, an average depth of j 

 eix leet, and a fall in the bottom of twelve and a | 

 Jburlh lt?et. Tiie latter, the Alligator canal, is I 

 five miles, fourieen hundred and hiiy six yards I 

 Jong, an average width, at bottom, of thirty leet, 

 an average depth of seven leet, and ii total iall ol 

 ten leet. These canals will leduc*^ the wafers of 

 each lake four leet, and are of sulTirient capacity 

 and fall to draw ofi' all the waier that may be 

 llirown into them by the lateral canals traced on 

 the map as necessary lor the fan her facility of 

 draining; llie immediate effects of these canals 

 will be to render a belt of land adjacent to iliom 

 as well as the land aroun I the lakes, susceptible 

 of tliKiough drainage and cu'livaiion. 



A I the time I took charge of the woik, in April, 

 1839, the se&son lor hiring hands by the year had 

 passed, and the competition (i::r laborers, by the 

 mon h, from the VViiniinLrton and Raleigh and 

 the Gaston and Raleigh Rail Roads then in rapid 

 progress, rendered it impossible to procure a suffi- 

 cient force to prosecute the work with the energy 

 that was desired. The two main canals were, 

 nevertheless, put under contract and commenced ; 

 but owing to these causes, not much progress was 

 made during the past year. At Chrisimas, the 

 season for procuring laborers, the contractors were 

 enabled to obtain a large force, and the work has 

 since progressed steadily and rapidly, uninterrupt- 

 ed even by sickness of any kind. Nearly one 

 hall of the Alligator canal has been comiiletpd. 

 The tributaries have been commenced, and on the 

 20th of October the water of Pungo lake was let 

 into Pungo canal. All the eflecte which were 

 anticipated of drainage on its borders and reduc- 

 tion ol the lake water, have been realised ; enough 

 has already been accomplished lo inspire confi- 

 dence and to remove all doubts and appreliensions 

 (if any exist) as to the success of the work. 

 There are now ready for sale 8000 acres of land 

 bordering on Pungo lake, on the west and north 

 ■west. This tract is covered with a heavy growth 

 of cypress and maple, and has been pronounced, 

 by competent judges, unequalled by any lands in 

 the state ; and such also is my opinion, after hav- 

 ing contrasted it with the rich lands of Pasquotank 

 and Perquimons, and with those of lake Phelps 

 and Maltamuskeet. In addition to this, ihere are 

 7000 acres of prairie land (the growth formerly 

 cypress, now cane and bamboos, bordering on the 

 canal, and on tlie northeast side of the lake, that 

 may also be oflered for sale. In confirmation of 

 the producliveneM of these land?, of which no one 



acquainted with them entertains a doubt, 1 would 

 observe that similar lands in the neigbboriiood, 

 but of inlerior quality, euljiH'ted to the n'ost ruin- 

 ous system of cultivation lor more thansi.xty y»\3 

 in succession, are still productive, yielding when 

 the seasons are favorab e to the imperl'ect plan of 

 drainage, (which with but few exceptions prevails 

 every where) from six to eight barrels of corn per 

 acre. 



1 would respectfully recommend some imme- 

 diate aciion towards bringing these lands iiito 

 market; the first step, that of laying them oil 

 into sections, is one of muidi labor, and can be 

 most easily perlbrmed at this sejisou. 



During the ensuing year Alligator canal will 

 be completed, and also some of the tributary 

 canals, and before the expiration ol' two years, we 

 expect to complete the eniire system of drainaiie 

 in reli^rence to this extensive tract of land. My 

 estimate for the accomplishment of this object 

 will consume the whole amount (.9200,000,) aji- 

 propiiatcd for this purpose, and unless some 

 I'uriher appropriation is made, the only fund appli- 

 cable to an extended system of drainage will be 

 the proceeds of the sales of the lands — which, if 

 for cash, would be ample (together with the 

 amount of sales accruing I'rorn time to time on 

 account of 0' her lands prepared for market) to 

 drain all the swamp lands which the state owns. 

 This will more readily appear from the following 

 estimate, based u| on [uices considerably lower 

 than those alTixed to the lands by some ol the 

 most competent and experienced judges who liave 

 examined ihem. Under this view, prelerable to 

 exciting expectations that would not be fully 

 realized. I will assume ihe low price of §6 per 

 acre, and the nnmtier of acres which the present 

 appropriation of §200,000 will drain to be 60,000 

 and even at this low estimate, we have a sum ex- 

 ceeding the cost of drainage by ^160,000. Ap- 

 plying this ratio between the cost of draining and 

 the income arising therefroin to the million of 

 acres owned by the state, the sum although enor- 

 mous would Iall short of the realization. 



This result, so beneficial and cheering, in itself 

 calculated to inspire confidence and recommend a 

 steady and vigorous prosecution of the work to 

 the end, is only one among the many beneficial 

 efllscts which will grow out of its completion. 

 Some of the ettects to which I allude, and confi- 

 dently calculate upon, have been caused by pre- 

 cisely similar operations in Great Britain, and are 

 so a[iplicable, although referring to land in a par- 

 tial slate of tillage, that 1 beg, in lieu of my own 

 words, to substitute those ol the engineer ap- 

 pointed by the British parliament to report upon 

 the mosses and marshes of that country. He 

 says the climate is rendered more healthy and 

 genial to both animal and vegetable lile, by the 

 removal of stagnant water, and ihe prevention of 

 those noxious exhalations arising from large tracts 

 of moss and marshy ground, wliere the herbage 

 gives but little nourishment and only promotea 

 disease. Since the introduction of drainage into 

 this country, the health of the inhabitants lias 

 been greatly improved; agues and other distem- 

 pers being now comparatively unknown that were 

 formerly so frequent, occasioned by the humidity 

 of the soil, and consequent impurity of the atmo- 

 sphere, producing that miasma which so often 

 proves fatal. The produce of the harvest, lor- 



