RECLAIMING MUGK LAND 67 



plow beam for quickly releasing the team 

 should conditions demand it. 



"In our experience the best crop to be 

 first planted on muck soil is potatoes, and 

 after one or more years, according to the 

 character of the soil and when it is well 

 broken down and settled, we may plant 

 celery, onions, lettuce, and such other crops 

 as we produce. 



"We have been using open ditches and 

 find them expensive and not satisfactory. 

 We are putting tile in those ditches, main 

 tile 12 inches and laterals 4 inches in diam- 

 eter. The laterals are probably on the 

 average 10 rods apart. I realize that this is 

 a little too far, but we are getting fairly good 

 results. We are putting these in, in the first 

 place, for draining, and we use the same for 

 irrigation. Our water supply is on the far 

 side of the muck. 



"The main line of tile is provided at the 

 junctions with cement boxes and gates to 

 shut off the water. When we wish to irri- 

 gate, we can close the gates and let the water 

 into the distant ends of the laterals. When 

 we have too much water, we pump it out. 

 We have no natural drainage. We have 



