116 



IMPROVED PASTURE AND WASTE LAND. 



Your Committee being called upon to examine only one piece 

 of land, which was entered by Mr. Joseph Horton, of Ipswich, 

 four members, Messrs. Aaron Low, David Warren, Eldred S. 

 Parker and myself, met there on Thursday morning, July 24, 

 and attended to that duty. These same members also met at 

 Lynn, during the Pair, September 30th, and would report that 

 they do not consider the piece of land entitled to receive a pre- 

 mium, and the following is submitted : — 



In order to describe the situation of this land, I would state 

 that it is in the same field with and adjoining land that has 

 previously received premiums from this Society for improved 

 land. 



It is a " soft, deep, black mud," and had been covered 

 with water so deep, that at times, we were told, boys had 

 bathed in it. A division fence formerly ran through it in a 

 crooked course, which brought a part of this swamp land into 

 a neighbor's pasture. 



Such an inaccessible position made it difficult to make re- 

 pairs on the fence, and the whole piece not being under one 

 man's control was an obstacle in the way of draining it thor- 

 oughly and economically. Mr. Horton first made an arrange- 

 ment to straighten the division line and fence, which enabled 

 him to drain the whole piece and do his plowing to best ad- 

 vantage. 



The source of the water that covered this land, independent- 

 ly of the rainfall that settled on it, was some distance from it, 

 being an extremely clear spring which was on solid ground 

 and which had been dug into a basin for drinking purposes for 

 animals, and as a pond for water fowl. From this source quite 

 a deep ditch had been dug to drain land between it and that 

 under consideration. This intervening land appeared to have 

 a more porous sub-soil, with a surface slope that kept it more 

 readily free from water. The ditch had extended only to the 

 land your committee examined, until recently, when it was ex- 



