46 



English grasses on bog meadows, commenced its improvement on 

 a new plan. 



It had been flowed winters by means of a dam across the lower 

 end of the lot. He took up this dam and relaid the water course 

 so that it lowered the water several inches. I think the water 

 after that time did not usually rise higher than within twelve or 

 fifteen inches of the surface, except during freshets. His next 

 step was to cut off the turf and bogs with sharp steel hoes on a 

 few square rods, then burned this turf and bogs, spread the ashes, 

 raked in seed, and soon had the satisfaction of cutting the first 

 English grass on meadow bottom that was ever seen in this 

 neighborhood. One of his neighbors told him he was foolish, for 

 he had no more meadow hay than he needed, and if he got it all 

 into English, he would not have enough meadow hay to feed in 

 the winter. My father replied, that if he could get two tons of 

 English hay instead of one of meadow, he- would be satisfied with 

 the exchange. 



So well did this first experiment prove, that for several years 

 after my father spent a part of every fall in cutting and burning 

 bogs, and getting more of the meadow into English grass. But 

 before he got over it, all the first lot had gone back to meadow 

 grass again, and did not produce much more than before it was 

 cut over. For the next few years his improvements consisted in 

 digging ditches through and around it, deep enough to get through 

 the mud into a kind of clay that underlies most of it, and spread- 

 ing this clay on the surface in connection with barn-yard manure. 

 This improved the grass and made the sward firm enough so that 

 teams could pass over the ground Avith light loads. But so many 

 cross ditches soon came to be very much in the way, besides, they 

 were constantly filling up, and required to be cleaned out every 

 few years. The next step was to clean them out, fill up with 

 small stones from the upland hills, and then dig another ditch near 

 by, filling that also with stones, and, using the mud and clay from 

 the last to cover the stones of both. This work was continued 

 till all the cross ditches and the upper end of the main were filled. 



According to my father's ideas at that time of thorough drain- 

 age, he considered the job about finished, and it was in this con- 

 dition when ho gave up the management of his farm to me. But 

 reading and observation soon convinced me that the meadow was 

 not yet thoroughly drained. That main ditch began to look more 

 like a nuisance than a drain. But what should be done with it ? 

 Fifteen feet wide, twenty rods long, water and soft mud about 

 two feet deep, the banks full of muskrat holes, which made it dan- 

 gerous to drive within twenty or thirty feet of the edge. On the 

 liills above were plenty of old stone walls that were not much 

 needed, also many rocks over the mowing fields that were not at 



