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dig out these five acres, to a deepness of four or five 

 feet, as it may be supposed the quantity of water may 

 require, what is thus taken out for the pond or sheet 

 of water must be laid on the ridges to be con- 

 verted and improved into corn land. The whole 

 ground, say the 100 acres, more or less, must then 

 be divided into equal proportions of sixty feet each, and 

 betwixt each ridge thus divided, cast a ditch four 

 feet wide at the top, one foot, 6 inches, at the bottom, 

 and four feet deep ; all those leading into the five acre 

 loch, plant up with larch firs, at three feet, plant from 

 plant, every third ridge, and the other two ridges to 

 be converted into corn land. For the first ten years, 

 a number of spruce firs may be planted and reared 

 amongst the larch, as they are excellent for draining. 

 If the bog or marsh to be drained, is almost a stand- 

 ing marsh of water, it may be necessary to have a 

 ditch in the middle of the two corn ridges, but these 

 may be of smaller dimensions than the main ones, 

 and have cross-cut drains leading into the main ones. 

 As the soil on such lands is generally good, the larch 

 firs will take root the first year and continue growing, 

 so that after the second year's growth, unless the 

 ground has been wholly covered with water, they 

 will have, with the help of the pond, so far drained 

 the two parts of land for cropping, that they may 

 now be sown with corn. Thus, it will be perceivable 

 I have been taking a view of and draining the very 

 worst description of these bogs and marshes, but in 

 ten cases out of twelve, all such land can be drained 

 by planting alone, that is to say, by ditching and 

 planting, as aforesaid, every third ridge ; to be more 

 plain, always planting one third, and cropping two- 

 thirds of all such land, attending strictly to the me- 



