CHAPTER IV 



RECLAIMING MUCK LAND 



If a farmer has a small body of muck, % 

 acre to 10 acres, or even a large bed, and it 

 is desired to clear this area and bring it under 

 cultivation, there are several important 

 points to be studied very thoroughly before 

 undertaking such a proposition. One of the 

 first of these factors is to go over the land 

 carefully and lay out a plan for developing 

 the project. A few readings with a carpen- 

 ter's level and some borings with a large 

 auger known as a soil auger, or even a post 

 hole digger, may teach a farmer a great deal 

 about his swampy land. A ditch, water of 

 which he thought was 3 to 4 feet below a 

 certain point on the marsh may be only I 

 foot lower. In 1,000 feet on the marsh where 

 he thought there was only i foot of fall, there 

 may be 3 or 4 feet. In a like manner, an 

 examination of the subsoil may show the 

 muck is 6 feet deep where he thought it was 

 only 2 or 3, and where he thought there was 

 a tight blue clay subsoil, there are streaks 

 of sand or marl. 



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