142 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



be safe in one respect, I could do it no harm. Being convinced 

 of the necessity of draining the land before it could be con- 

 verted into good English mowing, and having ascertained that 

 the fall was sufficient for all practical purposes, being about 

 eighteen inches to the twenty rods, I commenced cutting ditches. 

 The only outlet for the water is through adjoining land below 

 mine, belonging to my neighbor. Having obtained his consent, 

 I cut a ditcli through his land to the main stream, about fifteen 

 rods, to connect with the ditches through my land. The first ditch 

 I cut around the outside, about two feet wide, and from two to 

 three feet deep, according to the depth of the mud. The object 

 was to take the water from the high land and springs on the 

 outside. The other ditches were dug through the lot, parallel 

 to each other, about three rods asvuider, and from three to six 

 feet wide, and from four to six feet deep, unless troubled with 

 water. My object in digging that width and depth, was to 

 obtain as much of the material for covering the land as I could, 

 from the ditches, which consisted of mud three or four feet 

 deep, and a sub-soil of sandy loam. I commenced on half an 

 acre in August, 1845, by cutting and throwing out from the 

 ditches, until I had, ])y estimation, 150 loads. As I used about 

 100 loads to the acre, I had some to spare on other parts where 

 the mud was not so deep. I commenced spreading on one-half 

 acre in September following, covering up all vegetable matter, 

 carting on at the rate of 20 loads of compost manure to the 

 acre. The proportion of seed sown on an acre, was Timothy 

 one peck, redtop three pecks, four pounds clover seed, in the 

 spring following. In June following, another half acre was 

 prepared in the same manner. 



I consider June seeding on such land the best, as being less 

 liable to winter-kill. I continued my improvements in June, 

 1847, on another half acre, in the same manner, and with the 

 same results, and completed the remainder in 1848. About 

 one-quarter of an acre was prepared by carting on gravel and 

 loam from a distance, but it was more expensive than the other 

 method. It could be done in winter for about the same price, 

 when the ground is frozen and the price of labor less. As 

 some of the ditches I have dug will not be wanted, I am filling 

 them up by depositing the small stones in them, as I gather 

 them from the fields, thus serving a twofold purpose, for the 



