.N'ew York State 25 



groups. One is the tidewater swamps under the influence of 

 salt water, on which flags and grasses are the prevailing 

 type of vegetation. The salt water hinders decay. When 

 drained, this is washed out -and after a time the soil may be 

 cropped. This type is found on Long Island. The other, and by 

 far the greater, group, is composed of those scattered over the 

 state, as mentioned above. These- latter vary greatly, depending 

 on the organic matter they contain, their age, and their plant 

 food. This varies from 1% to 2Vo per cent of nitrogen (much 

 of which is in an unavailable form), from fV to tV per cent of 

 potash, and sometimes from i/i to % per cent of sulphur. Many 

 of the muck lands are rich in marl or lime carbonate. About 

 Caledonia -in northern Livingston County the marl is many feet 

 deep and of great purity. The finer deposits are now sold as a 

 source of lime carbonate. This lime may be due to shells of 

 mussels, which are often plainly visible. In other cases it is due 

 to the growth of -a certain kind of swamp moss that precipitates 

 lime carbonate from the water, such water being reinforced with 

 lime when .adjacent to limestone lands. 



Some of these muck lands are easily drained and have been tilled 

 for a long period. For a considerable time, each year has seen an 

 increasing area brought under culture, often at considerable cash 

 outlay. After they are cleared and drained, the fact that they 

 are so easily worked and often can be sub-irrigated by increasing 

 the height of the water in the open ditches is 'an important factor 

 in their reclamation. As land increases in value and there is 

 greater demand for the products of these soils through the increase 

 of a highly civilized population, additional areas will unquestion- 

 ably be brought under cultivation, thus helping to answer the 

 question of alarmists as to how coming generations are to be fed. 

 Several attempts have been made to drain the Montezuma marshes, 

 but from a financial standpoint they have not as yet been success- 

 ful. A serious problem is the fact that they are so level that it 

 is difficult to draw off the water. "Without doubt, however, com- 

 ing generations will see these marshes productive farm lands. 

 Because of the ease jof cultivation and the character of the crops 

 grown on them, much space has been given to these lands, which 

 constitute so small a part of the whole. 



