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HENRY L. STONE'S STATEMENT. 



Three years ago I commenced improving a meadow of six acres, 

 mostly a peaty bog, covereii a large portion of the year with water, 

 and producing a few brakes, cranberries and coarse grass. About 

 half an acre of it had been dug over for peat two spits deep. I 

 first dug a drain sufficiently deep, from the centre, to take oif the 

 water, two and a half feet below the lower poi-tion of it. Then 

 put in cross drains, from 1| to 2 feet below the surface and lead- 

 ing into the first or main drain, and fifty feet apart. I used the 

 6 inch horse shoe tile double, for the main drain, thus 0, and sin- 

 gle 3 inch for the cross drains, laying the single tile on a board 



when the ground was soft, thus o_ , which have, so far, answered 



the purpose. I then proceeded to pare the turf or top sod, Avhich 

 I used to fill up the peat pits to the extent of \ acre, the balance 

 I have burnt on the ground, with good results to succeeding crops. 

 I have thus reclaimed about four acres, at an expense of five hun- 

 dred and thirteen dollars, or about $123 per acre. A portion of 

 this outlay for the main drain being for the benefit of the whole, 

 should be charged to the remaining tAvo acres ; so that I think the 

 whole may be reclaimed for a sum not exceeding one hundred 

 dollars per acre. I have planted on that part reclaimed, potatoes, 

 corn, turnips, carrots, mangel wurtzel, parsnips, squash, and 

 pumpkins. These crops have, in no case, paid anything more 

 than the cost of cultivation the first season. The second and third 

 seasons they have proved profitable, yielding, Avith but little ma- 

 nure and ordinary cultivation, and twice hoeing, as follows : 



Indian corn, at the rate of 78 bushels per acre. 

 Mangel Wurtzel, 17| tons, or 580 bushels per acre. 



Carrots did not come up well, 220 " " " 



Potatoes, . . .160 " " " 



Rutabagas, ... 230 " " " 



Flat turnips, ... 315 " " " 



Pumpkins, ... 12 tons " " 



Parsnips, . . . 60 " " " 



The above were all of good quality, except the parsnips, which 

 were each a mass of fibrous roots of little value. The land is now 

 in fine productive condition, and I consider it, for ease of cultiva- 

 tion and productive quality, worth at least three times as much per 

 acre, as any other land in my neighborhood. I have omitted to 

 mention, that I did not surround the meadow with a marginal 

 drain until the second year, therefore did not get full control of 

 the water, and thereby lost the pi-oduct of the first year by an in- 

 imdation, caused by the autumnal rains. I feel confident that it 

 is useless to attempt to cultivate such lands until thej^ are tho- 



