ESSEX AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 127 



by a stroke or two of the axe, and affixing a rope near the top, 

 to sway them over, one man cutting such roots as seem to hold 

 on, in a few moments a tree may be brought to the ground, with 

 a thin sheet of the top of the soil turned up. The tree may 

 then be easily managed, and freed from most of the soil attached 

 to the roots. Some practise cutting the trees down near the 

 ground, and then removing the stumps by various ingenious ex- 

 pedients, or with machines made for that purpose. But I be- 

 lieve the former the most expeditious and cheapest method, 

 where the soil is suitable for its performance, although laboring 

 men enough may be found, who will clear such grounds of all 

 the stumps and roots, for the fuel they make. When the ground 

 to be reclaimed is covered with bushes and briars, not worth 

 saving for fuel, the ground should be burnt over, and all humps 

 and hassocks smoothed off; and, when the meadow is drained, 

 and in dry weather, piled and burnt to ashes, and the ashes 

 spread on the ground, which is one of the best of top-dressings. 

 To perform the work of draining, dig a large ditch in the 

 centre, or lowest part of the meadow, beginning at the lower 

 end, where there must be an outlet for the water. This ditch 

 should be about four feet wide at the top, and about two feet at 

 the bottom, dug down to the hard pan, which, in such land, is 

 generally from two to four or five feet deep, and composed of 

 hard sand, often inclining to clay, which is impervious to wa- 

 ter. This is the great conductor of all water from the land, or 

 is a reservoir to hold it, where the descent is so small as not to 

 carry it all immediately off. Then cross ditches, made shoal 

 and narrow, tapering to the bottom, about four rods, and some- 

 times only two rods apart, (where the springs are abundant,) 

 running crossway, to the main ditch. In most instances, and 

 where the cold springs flow in from the upland, marginal 

 ditches (between the meadow and upland,) are required, and 

 absolutely necessary to take off this water, and of more impor- 

 tance than any of the ditches. But where the water from the 

 hill sides comes only on the surface of the ground, it runs over 

 the meadow, and makes an irrigation that enriches it, greatly 

 promoting the growth of the grass. It will often be seen, that, 

 in the shallow cross ditches, where water runs in them from the 



