42 IMPROVEMEiNT OF WET MEADOV.'S. 



same, and in full for the use of the land up to that 

 time. 



The whole lot had heen considered of very little 

 value, and was commonly called " the Swamp." A 

 few weeks before I purchased it, a wealthy farmer, 

 whose house was within forty rods of it, and whose 

 house-lot joined it, refused to give an ordinary cow 

 and calf for the one half. 



There were upon the lot some trees, bushes, flags 

 and rushes, and it was subject to being overflowed 

 whenever there was a heavy rain. 



Four years since, I attempted to drain it in a dif- 

 ferent direction, as the natural course was impracti- 

 cable on account of the long, flat space that the 

 water had to pass over. For this purpose, two ditch- 

 es were made, by ploughing, digging and scraping, 

 which crossed each other near the centre of the lot, 

 and led off" the water by more than half a mile 

 shorter cut. Previous to draining, I had cleared 

 most of it of bushes by cutting and mowing them. 



I then turned with the plough some ridges with a 

 space of about forty feet between them and planted 

 with potatoes, beans, &:c. A little manure was put 

 into the holes, and a fair crop was produced. In the 

 fall the same land was sowed with grass-seed, without 

 any other ploughing. Last year the produce was 

 two tons of good herds grass hay to the acre. 



About half an acre of the land planted with pota- 

 toes, with a little coarse manure put into the holes, 

 produced the largest and best crop of that vegetable 

 which I had the last season. After they had been 

 dug, some manure was spread upon the ground, and 

 it was sowed with grass-seed, with no other labor 

 done on it than passmg over it the cultivator and 

 harrow. This season, (1837) it bore as handsome 

 herd's grass as I ever saw. Three acres and 144 

 rods produced two and one half bushels of herd's 

 grass-seed and eighty-seven cocks of good hay ; — 



