&l)c iTavmcr's ittontljln bisitor. 



69 



°ffi This stream ill the whole extent of the 

 meadow or valley may suitably he left open ; but 

 to it the covereil drains should he all directed. 

 We think the failure in receiving all the due 

 benefits from drainage of bog meadows has been 

 owing to not cutting off the cold springs coming 

 liom the exterior edge where the meadow con- 

 nects with the upland. A blind drain should be 

 first constructed around this exterior edge, and 

 this to communicate at as many points as may 

 be necessary with the main or open stream 

 which carries the water away from the lot. 



In this part of the country tiles have not yet 

 been manufactured for the purpose of under- 

 drainage. Where there is plenty of rocks of 

 suitable form and size, these may be made a sub- 

 stitute: plank or hoards, or even rough hewn 

 logs laid so as to leave a space for the permanent 

 passage of the waters, will answer the purpose 

 where rocks cannot be had. Wood in the 

 ground will not decay for ages laid deep below 

 the atmospheric action : this principle has re- 

 cently been discovered and applied in the laying 

 of aqueducts, where bored logs are found to be 

 a better conduit for the passage of pure water 

 than the best iron or lead pipes. 



What better use can be made of the masses of 

 small rocks carried from many fields than to ap- 

 ply them in filling up of ditches where peat and 

 black muck may be taken away from sunken 

 meadows to be drained. Frequently upland 

 fields, with plenty of rocks, lay all about in fields 

 at no great distance from the meadows. They 

 may be laid low below the reach of the plough, 

 and over these the grass or other crop may grow 

 as if there had been here no artificial method of 

 drainage adopted. The appearance of these 

 rocks would not be as unsightly as if deposited 

 in some spot forever to cover a portion of the 

 field. Thousands of acres, not only of low 

 meadows, but of the sour cold lands in their 

 natural condition, of little benefit for either grass 

 or pasturage, may be made of the most produc- 

 tive of the soil cultivated by the farmer. All 

 such lands will become light and lively by under- 

 drainage and the application of the suitable 

 stimulants. 



" The principle of drainage should he well un- 

 derstood. Commencing always low down, the 

 drain should he constructed to carry off the wa- 

 ter in a suitable fall as that of a slightly inclined 

 plane. The drain either of tiles, rocks or wood, 

 should be so constructed as to prevent the possi- 

 bility of clogging or stoppage of the water 

 course. This may be done by laying the rocks 

 or wood in a suitable arch over a board at the 

 bottom if the ground at the hottom shall not lie 

 Sufficiently hard for the water-passage. Over 

 the arch, rocks may he filled in, and over these 

 turfs, or straw or shavings may he placed before 

 the supercumhent earth or soil shall he filled in. 

 Covered drains of this kind — no matter how nu- 

 merous — all leading off the superabundant water 

 of wet lands, well prepare them fur the best' ope- 

 rations of the cultivator. 



Of the kind of draining described, the Dela- 

 ware Farmer presents the following interesting 

 experiment in that State : 



The most extensive and perfect experiment 

 that has come under my notice, and to which I 

 wish to call your attention particularly, is that of 

 Bryan Jackson, who has some 4 or 5000 feet of 

 perfect miry unsightly bog beautifully reclaimed. 

 The process which he adopted was first to open 

 n main and open ditch through or near the cen- 

 tre of the low lands, designed to he reclaimed, 

 6ome four or six feet wide, and two or three feet 

 deep, or of sufficient vvidtb and depth to carry 



off all rain and other surplus water. Into which 

 open or main drain all his under-drains lead. 

 The covered drains are started at the lowest part 

 of the land designed to In- drained by lids pro- 

 cess, at the main ditch, running perpendicular 

 thereto, and extending as far into the fast land 

 as to head off the springs; then following up 

 the fist larid in a general direction, parallel with 

 the main open drain, taking care to head all 

 spring!, earning the hottom of the m in covered 

 land drain to a depth as nearly level with the 

 bottom of the ma'll open drain, US to give a grad- 

 ual descent — the slower the better, so as to lead 

 off all spring water. To lead off the water from 

 the main covered or land drain, he has cut cross 

 drains, from it to the open main drain, in a di- 

 rection somewhat down stream, and at distances 

 from each other sufficient to completely drain 

 the land. Some parts of the main covered drain 

 on either side of the cripple, was cut full five 

 feet deep. The drains were formed as far as I 

 saw them, by three boards, one of which was 

 laid Mat on the bottom ; the other two, after be- 

 ing cut so as to fit, are placed on their edges and 

 brought together at the top, forming a triangular 

 drain. The top hoards of the lowest part of 

 these drains, were near two feet below the 

 surface. 



The whole of this work appears to have been 

 done very similar to the plan laid down in Ste- 

 vens' Book of the Farm, as now being re-pub- 

 lished in Skinner's Farmers' Library. By this 

 mode of improvement in a few short months, an 

 unsightly, and otherwise useless and unhealthy 

 hog is reclaimed, the land cleared off and 

 ploughed, and now the wheat is growing most 

 luxuriantly. Recently, hollow tiles for nnder- 

 drains have been used by some, and they bid fair 

 to come into general use. They are about 

 twelve or thirteen inches long. They are made 

 in Cecil county, on the farm of David Taylor, 

 who is a neighbor of mine, and lives on the 

 Maryland side of Mason and Dixon's line, lias 

 several thousand feet of drain made with those 

 tiles. Tiles for the purpose of draining are 

 made in Wilmington. I think by W. Lovel. The 

 cost of under-draining sunk sufficiently below 

 the reach of the plough, say eighteen inches, 

 costs 25 cents per rod, exclusive of materials, 

 whether of tile or plank. 



From all that 1 have seen of draining, I think 

 Bryan Jackson's is the best done. 



This is a subject which I think of great im- 



seek out and procure the copying for publication 

 of further papers elucidating the early and revo- 

 lutionary history of this country. The familiar- 

 ity of the names of those introduced in bis great 

 work, in the volumes already published, strikes 

 upon us the fact of their high importance: it is 

 a proud consideration to every son and daughter 

 of the revolutionary fathers of New Hampshire 

 that their ancestors early bent all their energies 

 to secure our independence under the wise rule 

 of liberty and law. 



Who can point us to the volume which does 

 justice to the name and memory of that excellent 

 patriot and truly great man, John Langdon ? 

 His life has not yet been written. Tradition 

 speaks of him as first leading in an expedition 

 which early in the year 1775, seized and took 

 possession of the fort and munitions at the 

 mouth of Portsmouth harbor, dismantling and 

 bringing off the artillery pieces. The above ex- 

 tract from Mr. Force's History shows him and 

 the never-faltering Bartlett to have been mem- 

 bers of the Congress of 1775 sitting at Phila- 

 delphia, quilting his seat and undertaking, as it 

 must have been at that time, a perilous journey 

 to Canada, entrusted undoubtedly with the secret 

 agency of offering inducements to the people of 

 that province (o unite with these then infant 

 colonies in acts of resistance to the tyranny and 

 oppression of an unfeeling mother country. The 

 secret nature of that journey was such as not to 

 admit of publicity, (before they were forgotten,) 

 of the events attending it. In little more than 

 a year afterwards we find the same Captain 

 Langdon a member and presiding officer of the 

 provincial Congress of New Hampshire. Acci- 

 dent merely enabled us in 1828 to rescue from 

 oblivion a fact equally honorable to the enlight- 

 ened head and generous heart of John Langdon. 

 His constant friend and admirer, the late Jona- 

 than Eastman of this town then related the facts 

 as of his own knowledge. The perils of the 

 country called together in the summer of 1777 



portance to the people of this State. Every t | 1B representatives of the people in the Congress 

 acre of waste land that can be and is so reclaim- 



ed, is just so many acres addeil to our territory ; 

 and besides this, it adds to the beauty, health 

 and wealth of the State. 



Respectfully and truly yours, 



J. JONES. 



John Langdon and Josiah Bartlett—a tribute 

 to their services and their patriotism ; with 

 a spice of other matters interesting to 

 farmers. 



Josiah Bartlett to the Mew Hampshire Commit- 

 tee of Safety : 



Philadelphia, Nov. 13, 1775. 



# # * # Yesterday Capt. Langdon set oft 

 on his journey to Canada, so that I am left here 

 alone to act in behalf of our Colony. I don't 

 expect him here any more during this session ot 

 Congress. 



Col. Force's Documentary History, published 

 under the patronage of Congress, has already 

 performed an inestimable service in retiieving 

 from oblivion, from the scattered fragments he 

 has sought and found in the Secretary's office ot 

 this State, many interesting facts. In the Exec- 

 utive Chair of this State the editor of the Visitor 

 bad the pleasure, in the year 18:30, to see his 

 suggestions to the Legislature followed up by an 

 appropriation for collecting and binding into 

 volumes a portion of the scattered manuscripts. 

 Many of these, of high interest, probably yet re- 

 main, scattered in the towns of the old county of 

 Rockingham and perhaps in other parts of the 

 State. Col. Force, in further preparation for the 

 volumes of his work, recently informed the edi- 

 tor that he intended again to visit our capital to 



at Exeter: Captain Langdon, as the master spirit, 

 was the presiding officer. Messengers alarmed 

 the country with intelligence of the impending 

 invasion and triumphant march of Burgoyne's 

 army from the southerly point 01 Cbamplain lake 

 to overrun New England: the disastrous battle 

 at Hubberton had been fought, with the army re- 

 treating before the British and their Hessian 

 stipendiaries. The continental Congress was 

 without means to afford the frontier of New 

 Hampshire any relief: the distance to the whole 

 westerly line of the State from the invading 

 army was scarcely a hundred miles. What was 

 to be done ? The paper promises of the Conti- 

 nental or Provincial Congress were at the low 

 ehl) that not a dollar could he raised for the sup- 

 port of new levies then to be railed out for the 

 defence of New Hampshire. The Congress or 

 State Assembly was tit Exeter — John Langdon 

 was there, and John Stark, who had done the 

 main work of vengeance on the British in a 

 short hour's service with his regiment of New 

 Hampshire boys on the 17th June 1775, on the 

 side of Bunker Hill— John Stark, overslaughed 

 by popin-jays and pretenders who had danced 

 attendance on and had the favorable ear of the 

 continental Congress, was there too, ready to 

 lead oil' his ranger veterans and their sons to the 

 assured success which bad followed him during 

 the previous seven years' war with the French 

 and Indians. The men could be raised, the 

 arms and munitions, the powder and ball, could 



