November, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



445 



Bridge and Island on a Reclaimed Estate 



The surroundings, too, of a marsh are lovely. On one 

 side there may be miles of sand-dunes; playful wind-built 

 hills and valleys with their own character and charm; and 

 there may be drumlins bare and treeless from their boulder- 

 strewn shore to their rounded backs; or mayhap there are 

 rocky points, clad with low trees, carrying the mainland far 

 out in the sea of golden green ! 



Such is the salt marsh to the eye, and one would have it 

 always so, but to the other senses it makes a' different appeal. 

 It is too wet to cultivate or to walk on and the mosquitoes 

 and gnats it harbors are a pest. How shall it be made livable 

 and its beauty not be destroyed? Or, if its unique char- 

 acter can not be preserved, what shall it become ? 



With its improvement for practical purposes, as in Hol- 

 land, I am not concerned, except to say that it can be made 

 as valuable here as 

 there, and will be, so 

 soon as the returns are 

 likely to warrant the 

 expenditure. As a part 

 of private grounds, or 

 of public parks, what 

 shall be done with it? 



There are two pos- 

 sible methods: one to 

 raise the whole level, 

 by filling, or by pump- 

 ing sand on top of the 

 marsh from the creeks, 

 which are thus deep- 

 ened; the other method 

 being to drain and 

 dyke the area so that 

 the water is kept at a 

 constant level, no mat- 

 ter how the tide rises 

 and falls outside. The 

 latter method is per- 

 haps the better, as it 

 preserves the character 

 of the marsh more per- 

 fectly. The Back Bay 

 Fens in Boston were 

 so treated by F. L. 

 Olmstead, but there 

 the problem was ren- 

 dered more difficult by 



the stream running through 

 the middle, which in times 

 of storm carried a large 

 volume of flood water. The 

 floods are most likely to oc- 

 cur with a northeast wind 

 and consequent high tides 

 in the Charles River, into 

 which the stream empties. 

 To obviate this difficulty 

 the edges of the marsh 

 were raised, making it pos- 

 sible to store a great quan- 

 tity of storm water between 

 the usual water and marsh 

 level and the tops of the 

 banks-flood level. Raised 

 to this upper level, which is 

 higher than any recorded 

 tide in the Charles River, 

 the water would flow over 

 the gates. 



The result was a beauti- 

 ful winding stream held at constant level slightly below 

 broad marshes covered with a luxuriant growth of grass and 

 wild flowering plants, and all inclosed by the high, thickly 

 planted banks, on top of which the roads are carried. This 

 was a costly and elaborate treatment, though, of course, not 

 nearly so costly as complete filling would have been. The 

 stream is a delightful canoe river, so the Park provides for 

 more than the ordinary pleasures. 



The simplest procedure is to dyke the meadows, keeping 

 the water at about half tide, and allow rain water to run off 

 for five to six hours from half tide to half tide, collect for 

 the same period and run off again. This will leave many 

 pools and small creeks too high for the water to reach. 

 They should be filled, but the creeks must not be filled 

 level ; there must be left slight depressions so that surface 



A Water Garden at East Hampton, Long Island, New York 



