b MR. COLMAN S ADDRESS. 



fertile, and inciting others to emulate his example of good hus- 

 bandry. 



There are three modes of increasing the produce of the soil, 

 within the reach of every farmer ; — draining, ploughing, and ma- 

 nuring. I can only glance at these topics, for it is not my in- 

 tention to give a treatise on agriculture. 



1. First, of draining. There are extensive tracts of low and 

 wet land in the county, enriched by the decay of their own na- 

 tive growth, and the copious washings of centuries from the 

 surrounding hills, which require only to be drained to produce, 

 instead of a worthless herbage, the best of English hay and 

 corn. In many cases, removing the water by open or covered 

 drains, so formed as to cut off the springs at the sides of the 

 meadow, is all that is necessary. In other cases the addition of 

 some firmer substance, such as sand, or gravel, or loam, is need- 

 ed to give it consistency. This in general is to be found in the 

 neighborhood, and may be placed on the meadow at a season 

 when such labor can be easily applied. In most cases the ma- 

 terials for manure obtained from the ditches, and the first or the 

 two first crops will defray the expense of the improvement.* 

 Sand contributes to the improvement of such lands by dividing 

 the soil into fine parts, and rendering it favorable for cultivation, 

 and the growth of the finer grasses ; both sand and gravel serve 

 to give it firmness ; but probably the best mode of managing 

 such meadows, after being well drained, would be to invert the 

 sod, and after rolling to cover it with a coating of good loam, 

 mixed well with manure, to the depth of about two inches ; or 

 to apply such a covering without inverting the sod, and to sow 

 the grass seeds immediately upon this. Some lands have been 



* A successful experiment of this kind has been made by Asa 

 T. Newiiali., of Lynnfield, where at least ten acres of a sunken 

 and useless bog have been, at a moderate expense, brought into 

 productive English mowing. He has furnished the Committee 

 with ample details on the subject, which will be found appended 

 to their Report on Reclaimed Meadows. An improvement of this 

 sort is likewise to be found on the farm of Isaac Osgood, of An- 

 dover, where by good judgment and labor, meadows of some extent 

 liave been redeemed and made productive. 



