572 SELECTIONS FROM ADDRESSES. 



well known to all who have ever seen much of swamp land. 

 The material of which they are formed, contains all the ele- 

 ments of fertility, but in such a state that they are entirely 

 locked up, for no valuable plant will grow upon them in their 

 unaltered condition. Lay the swamp dry, however, or draw 

 some of the earth out and mix in a compost heap, and it will 

 in almost all cases support a luxuriant vegetation. The process 

 of decomposition, arrested by the constant presence of too much 

 water, goes forward again as soon as this is withdrawn, and the 

 elements of fertility which are present, are thus enabled to 

 exert their action on the plant. 



Such is the state of things when the water level is at the 

 surface ; the evil action of the water is here perfectly obvious; 

 but there are other cases where, in concealment, it does a 

 scarcely less injurious work. If you remove the level at which 

 water constantly stands, to six inches below the surface, the 

 same consequences result that I have before described, as to the 

 formation and accumulation of deleterious mineral and vegeta- 

 ble compounds. They do not appear on the surface, however, 

 except perhaps in spring, and it appears quite dry. This dry- 

 ness is not exactly what it should be, for the class of plants 

 produced naturally on a soil in this condition are poor. If a 

 pasture, or meadow, the grass is harsh and wiry, and ill adapted 

 for food; if ploughed, the crops are scanty and uncertain. The 

 land is called by farmers cold and sour ; no doubt every farmer 

 among my audience, can think of some such land, for I find it 

 abundant in all parts of the country. 



Now all of this land is thus rendered cold and sour by the 

 presence of too much water; the terms exactly express its qual- 

 ities ; it is sour because of the abundance of certain vegetable 

 acids, and it is cold because of the constant evaporation of 

 water from its surface. Many practical men will disclaim in- 

 dignantly, the idea that such a soil is really suffering from too 

 much water, at least in such a degree as to render drainage ne- 

 cessary. It is true, they will acknowledge that it is rather wet, 

 and therefore backward in spring, but it dries up very well later 

 in the season, and even in some cases suffers from drought. 

 The fact is, that this being wet in spring, is one of the chief 



