252 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



ject, yet we did expect to receive mutual ber.efit drains pass are quite variable ; sometimes pre- 

 and instruction, and, thus far, we have not been senting a level surface, with a rich black soil, at 



act 



disappointed. The subjects which have already 



been discussed are the folloAving : TJie best metli 



ods of making and saving domestic manures ; the 



others undulating, and presenting below, stones, 

 rocks, gravel, clays, in one instance a quick-sand 



bestiimeof mtti7ig the variovs kinds of grass, a7id\^hout as ready to find its level as water itself, 

 the best methods of airing them ; the best style 0/ and below most of these a hard-pan subsoil. 

 plowing the different kinds of soil These discus- xhis interval, or space between the hills, was 



sions have been held once a fortnight. It is the « i i i ■ ^ ^ « .i 



.\ ^. r. .1 • i. * 1 " 14. formerly covered during a greater part of the 



intention of the society to have a regular town / * °,. ' 



Cattle Snow scrnetime during the autumn. | y^^^r ^■^th stagnant water, supplied from the hills. 

 The following are the officers for the present acting as reservoirs, on either side. But being 



year : — Rev. John Goldsbury, President ; Edward 

 Mayo, Vice President ; Samuel W. Spooner, Sec- 

 retary ; Joseph W. Phillips, Treasurer ; Elisha 

 M. Davis, Clark Stearns, William R. Ball, Joseph 

 W. Green, and Jotham Lincoln, Standing Com- 

 mittee. John Goldsbuky. 



A MORNING IN AN OLD SWAMP. 



At a period when so much interest is felt in 

 the subject of Drainage, it is important that per- 

 sons engaged in the operation should not only 

 have access to the best works on the subject, and 

 communication with intelligent men who have 

 given the matter thought, investigation and prac- 

 tical attention, but they should be referred to 

 works going on and also in a completed state, in 

 order to determine, by the practical efforts of 

 others, whether it is feasible and advisable for 

 them to embark in a similar enterprise on their 

 own estates. For cautious and well considered 

 movements would save farmers, as well as men 

 in other callings, from many disastrous experi- 

 ments that not only exhaust their means, but fill 

 them afterwards with prejudices that are not well 

 founded, and that are exceedingly difficult to be 

 removed. 



It is with this view that we give an account of 

 a morning visit to an old swamp — to state where 

 an extensive operation in drainage is now being 

 carried on, and to suggest to those contemplating 

 similar operations, that they may find much in this 

 work towards settling the question whether they 

 will embark in such an enterprise or not. 



It was a windy morning in early March when 

 Mr. J. H. Shedd, of the firm of Shedd & Edson, 

 Civil Engineers and Surveyors, Boston, took us 

 to the pleasant town of Milton, seven miles from 

 Boston, to look at lands now going through the 

 process of being underdrained, and belonging to 

 Messrs. John A. Cunningham and John M. Forbes, 

 both Boston merchants, but who have an eye for 

 the useful and beautiful in country life. 



The tract on which the drains are located is 

 considerably elevated above that immediately 

 north of it, and in this direction, and by means of 

 this elevation, the necessary fall for the main 

 drain is obtained. The east and west sides are 

 flanked by hills, and terminating in somewhat 

 extensive plains or table land. 



The surface and the soil through which the 



well M'ooded with a rich growth of young oaks, 

 maples and elms, the project was conceived of 

 converting it into a park or pleasure ground, by 

 the permanent removal of the water, and reduc- 

 ing the soil to a state of dryness and solidity ; 

 and by the construction of avenues, and the in- 

 troduction of such other features as might be de- 

 sirable. 



The trencli for the main drain is 1450 feet in 

 length, about 4i feet in depth, and 3^ feet wide 

 at top, by 3 feet at the bottom. The least fall in 

 any portion of the drain is three-tenths of a foot 

 in a hundred feet. 



The lateral drains on the easterly side of the 

 main are ten in number, with an aggregate length 

 of 1900 feet, their average length being 190 feet. 

 These drains were laid out at distances 60 feet 

 apart, are on the line of half-rise with the steepest 

 ascent, and their ends run well into the hills. 



The tract to be drained has very properly been 

 made into two divisions, as the condition of the 

 surface naturally requires two main drains to lead 

 ofi" the water from the laterals. It ought to be 

 stated, too, that there was a small, natural, sinu- 

 ous water-course flowing through both divisions. 

 The length of the mains and the laterals passing 

 into the brook are as follows : 



1st division, main drain 1450 feet. 



1st division, laterals 1900 " 



2nd division, main drain 550 " 



2Dd division, laterals 1050 " 



Brook 1550 " 



Laterals into brooli 1700 " 



Total S200feet. 



The sinuous water course has been excavated 

 and its stream so much increased in volume as 

 to become dignified into a rapid and pleasant 

 brook, adding greatly to the appearance of what 

 will now rapidly assume the appearance of a 

 clear and wholesome park ! 



The tract of land now drained has long been 

 abandoned to stagnant water, lily pads, frogs, 

 lizards and water brush, and was a fair sample 

 of those dismal sivamps which abound in nearly 

 every portion of New England. Now the sur- 

 face presented is extremely uneven, and abounds 

 with a mass of decaying vegetation, black, slimy 

 and disagreeable, where hassocks, rotten roots, 

 and masses of leaves and brakes may become ac- 

 tive agents in fertilizing and rearing more useful 

 and agreeable plants. 



