42 ON RLXLAIJISD MEADOW. 



whole about twenty acres, permit me to observe that the land 

 herein described, could hardly be entitled to the name of 

 meadow, as very little grass of any kind grew thereon. The 

 place has been known by the names of Duck-pond and Lily- 

 pond, a considerable part of which, until within a few years, has 

 been covered with water, bushes, dogwood, and flag, the remain- 

 der with lilies. Previous to commencing draining, in a very dry 

 season, two or three loads of very coarse water-grass, as it is 

 generally called, have been obtained ; but laborers were always 

 averse to this part of haying, on account of wading in mud and 

 water, and being surrounded by snakes, with which the meadow 

 abounded ; the mud was so deep, being from one to eight feet, 

 that in a wet season, it was with difficulty a man could pass 

 over it, and the attempt to reclaim it was thought chimerical, by 

 my agricultural neighbors. 



About ten years since, I cut a ditch through the centre of the 

 meadow, which in a good degree, drained the water from the 

 surface, and caused the parts adjoining the shore to be passably 

 dry. 



In the autumn of 1825 I succeeded in ploughing lot No. 1 , as 

 marked on the plan, containing one acre, a part of which was 

 covered with bushes ; 1826, planted it with potatoes, with a 

 smaller quantity of manure than usual for upland, which grew 

 luxuriantly ; but abundant rains in August flowed the meadow 

 and nearly destroyed the crop. 



The meadow having settled nearly to a level with the bottom 

 of the ditch, in 1827 I sunk the ditch from one to two feet, and 

 cut several others through the meadow in different directions as 

 marked on the plan, spread three loads of compost manure, 

 sowed this piece with oats and grass seed, and the same has 

 yielded all of two tons of good hay each of the four last years. 

 One hundred bushels of leeched ashes have been spread on it 

 since the grass seed was put in. 



In 1828 I teamed on to lot No. 2, containing one acre, two 

 hundred loads, containing from fifteen to twenty bushels each of 

 sand and gravel in four days with two teams and three men ; 

 spread it as well as I conveniently could on the top of the sward. 



