80 



town. The peat is from two to fifteen feet or more in 

 depth, of good quality to burn, — if that statement can ever 

 be truthfully made concerning peat. The statement of Mr. 

 George shows a remarkable profit (partly owing to some 

 fortunate circumstances), much more than can usually be 

 expected from such investments, but the business was 

 evidently conducted with skill and economy, and his meth- 

 ods might well be followed by others. There is a great 

 deal of similar land in the County, now nearly worthless, 

 which might be made the most profitable of any. 



We think the value of such land is generally under-rated. 

 Many have tried the experiment of reclaiming a piece of 

 wet meadow, and have found that the land did not yield 

 the good results expected, and so have concluded that the 

 cultivation of low ground does not pay. But in nine cases 

 out of ten, we believe such failures are due to bad manage- 

 ment, or rather want of management. Such land, if treat- 

 ed as upland usually is, will always prove a failure. It 

 does not need moi'e expense and labor, but needs fertilizing 

 and care, more frequently and constantly. 



A common way of managing upland, is to plough and 

 cultivate with hoed crops one or two years, apply one or 

 two coats of manure, and then lay down to grass, either 

 with or without a crop of grain ; and then cut the grass for 

 several years without doing anything more. Meadow land, 

 especially peat land, requires very different treatment. It 

 requires frequent applications of manure, but the quantity 

 at each application may be light. Probably such land 

 should be manured every year while cultivated, and if laid 

 down to grass should be topdressed as often as once in two 

 years. Then too the drains must be carefully kept open, so 

 that the water may readily run off. Land should be drain- 

 ed, not only so that all the water may be carried off, but it 

 should be carried quickly, after a heavy rain ; and the ex- 

 perience of every farmer is that drains and ditches soon 



