ESSEX SOCIETY. 31 



While the value of such land, when reclaimed, is acknowl- 

 edged by all, some farmers object to the improvement on the 

 ground of expense/ They say that the labor of reclamation 

 costs so much, that they feel compelled to sacrifice their prefer- 

 ences at the shrine of prudence. But this objection loses its 

 weight, when it is considered that farmers may do most of this 

 work within themselves, and at times when their teams are not 

 required for other service. Besides, much of the swamp land 

 in this county has been, at a remote period, covered with a heavy 

 growth of pine, and the fuel raised from beneath the surface 

 will, in most instances, remunerate the expense incurred. Such 

 has been the fact in several cases in my own neighborhood. My 

 neighbor, Sullivan Brown, who has this year raised a fine crop 

 of corn and potatoes on land that two years ago was mere bog, 

 informs me that the entire cost of reclaiming it has been defrayed 

 by the wood obtained. 



Another consideration, by which I would urge this kind of im- 

 provement, is Health. If " time is money," so is health. The 

 salubrity or insalubrity of a neighborhood or town will always 

 affect the value of landed property. Whatever, therefore, ren- 

 ders a place more healthy, makes it more attractive for habita- 

 tion, and consequently increases the value of real estate. This 

 fact is worthy the attention of all, and especially of those inhab- 

 iting towns through which pass the iro7i arteries centering in 

 Boston. The rapid growth of the metropolis is every year 

 impelling hundreds of its business men to seek homes for their 

 families, during the summer months, in the country, and such 

 will continue to be the case for many years to come. The facil- 

 ities of rail-roads make it nearly as convenient for a merchant 

 doing business on Long Wharf to reside twenty or thirty miles 

 in the country, as to live at the south or west ends of the city ; 

 and, in selecting a residence, its healthiness will determine the 

 choice. 



Much of the summer sickness in the country is attributable 

 to an impure atmosphere produced by the miasma of meadows 

 and swamps. Draining and culture will, of course, in all such 

 cases, remove this cause of disease. This truth has been remarka- 

 bly exemplified in the north parish in Beverly. Formerly, fevers, 



