IMPROVEMENT OF WET MEADOWS. 39 



that the necessary labor was clone at intervals afford- 

 ed by the other business of the farm. 



It would not be easy, by any commentary, to add to 

 the impressions which the statements of Messrs. Dal- 

 rymple and French cannot fail to make. The Com- 

 mittee submit them without further remark. They 

 award the highest premium of twenty dollars to Orin 

 Dalrymple, and the next of ten dollars to Moses 

 French. N. W. HAZFN, 



For the Committee. 



December, 1837. 



ORIN DALRYMPLE'S STATEMENT. 



To the Trustees of the Agricultural Society for the County of Essex : 



Ctentlemen — In my farm in Lynn, I have a mea- 

 dow of 70 acres, which eight years ago bore nothing 

 but meadow hay, and produced about one ton to the 

 acre, of a poor quality. The meadow was mostly 

 tilled with hassocs. I cut a ditch of 8 feet wide and 

 4 deep, through the centre of the meadow, and many 

 other smaller ditches to drain the water into the large 

 ditch. The length of all the ditches is about four 

 miles. The whole meadow is covered by a soft black 

 mould, from 6 to 9 inches, and then a greyish sub- 

 stance, I call peat, from 9 to 15 inches deep, upon a 

 pan of clay and sand. 



Eight years ago the last Fall, I ploughed 7 acres 

 of thfs meadow, and in the following spring I sowed 

 3 acres with oats, 3 1-2 to 4 bushels, 1-2 bushel and 

 1 peck red top and 1 pound clover seed to the acre. 

 In the summer following, I harvested 50 bushels of 

 oats to the acre. ; In the Winter following, when the 

 ground was frozen, I carried on 10 cords of compost 



