HAMPDEN SOCIETY. 191 



which, in the shape of a child's apron, is exhibited with the 

 raw material from Sumatra. The stripes are of different colors, 

 showing the adaptation of bark silk to take any color. The 

 Pongee silk of our stores, is made of mulberry bark, and is not 

 spun by the silk worm, The old fashioned bark silk handker- 

 chiefs, are made of the fibres of mulberry bark, manufactured 

 in the East Indies. 



A pair of socks, spun from the threads of perforated cocoons, 

 and knit the present year by Mrs. Sophia Wright, of this town, 

 are among the silk articles presented at the exhibition. 



Northampton, Oct. 8, 1851. 



Reclaimed Meadows. 



The premium of $10 was awarded to Samuel Powers, of 

 Hadley. 



Samuel Poivers^s Statemenc. 



The swamp, which I have reclaimed and entered for pre- 

 mium, is situated at the foot of a hill on the road leading from 

 Hadley to Amherst, and previous to my efforts at reclaiming, it 

 was completely filled with water, flowing from springs, which 

 were abundant along the base of the hill. Its soil is of that 

 kind denominated peat, and is formed of the accumulation of 

 vegetable matter during a long series of years, until it is now 

 several feet in depth. 



This mass of matter lies upon a subsoil, which is so very 

 hard that a plough will make no impression upon it ; therefore 

 what manure is put upon it will endure a long time, as it can- 

 not waste by percolation, or leaching, as it is sometimes called. 

 It is also of itself a valuable fertilizer, and we yearly use large 

 quantities of it upon lands of an opposite nature. 



It was of the first importance that the land be cleared of 

 water, and to accomplish this I ran a ditch fifty-five rods in 

 length, and from two to three feet in depth, along the foot of 

 the hill, in order to cut off the springs. As the land was more 

 elevated in the centre, I found it necessary to surround about 

 eight acres with a deep thorough ditch, thereby concentrating 



