FRUIT. 219 



although the results have been sufficiently encouraging to 

 convince me that if tlie work is properly pursued, it will ulti- 

 mately be of material advantage by increasing, to a large extent, 

 the products of some of my land. 



That part of my land which I judged might be improved as 

 to its general productiveness, by both drainage and irrigation, 

 lies between the public road on the south and a pond on its 

 northern boundary. A portion of the land, perhaps eight or 

 ten acres, is a dry, gravelly loam, surrounded on every side by 

 low meadow or peat bog, the water formerly standing or run- 

 ning some four or five feet below the level of the highest part of 

 the land to be irrigated ; consequently it seemed impracticable 

 to use the water for that purpose. The centre or highest part 

 of the land was cultivated and three or four acres planted with 

 pear trees, between the rows of which were planted strawberries 

 and currants, and in some instances potatoes, carrots and other 

 roots. The other portion of the high land was devoted to grass 

 or grain. The pear trees were planted in rows nine feet apart 

 each way, giving eighty-one square feet to each tree, or five 

 hundred and thirty-seven trees to an acre. Between the rows 

 of trees, beds were prepared for strawberries by back-furrowing 

 very deep to the centre, leaving beds just three feet wide, with 

 a hollow between each bed and row of trees for the water to 

 run in when needed. In the centre, between the trees in the 

 rows, a currant bush is planted, thus giving as many of these as 

 there are of the trees. 



In commencing the work, I first ascertained by levels whether 

 I could drain the upper end of the lot, which is a deep peat bog 

 — the surface of the mud and water there, being apparently 

 much below the surface of any of the dry land. It was found 

 practicable to drain it considerably by digging through the high 

 part of the land for a distance of six hundred or eight hundred 

 feet towards the pond on the north, but impossible to carry tlie 

 water to those higher portions where irrigation was most 

 required. To obviate that difficulty, I caused the bog or basin 

 at the head to be made deeper and larger, by removing large 

 quantities of muck, which was used for compost, and this exca- 

 vation opened numerous additional springs. Then the water 

 was secured by damming up all old drains leading from the 

 pond so formed, by which means the water rose to a sufficient 



