DRAINING SWAMP-LANDS.—WORN-OUT LANDS.—SILK CULTURE. 
55 
DRAINING SWAMP-LANDS. 
A farmer upward of 70 years of age, in this 
vicinity, having subscribed for an agricultural pa¬ 
per, and observing an article in it upon draining 
swamp-lands in England, immediately bethought 
him of what could be done with about six acres 
near his own dwelling. It was a perfect frog-pond, 
thinly covered with tamerack, spruce, and alders. 
He dug a ditch round the whole of it, with an 
outlet at one corner, and the winter following, 
when the swamp was frozen, went on and cut 
down all the wood and brush, carried off the wood, 
and heaped the limbs and brush for burning. The 
next summer being a dry one, he burned off nearly 
everything combustible. The next year, what was 
previously swamp became dry and compact enough 
to bear a heavy yoke of oxen; he then had an anchor 
made with three sharp flukes or prongs, which 
would catch under the roots, and with this he 
dragged out nearly every stump and root on the 
six acres. These were heaped up into piles, and 
when dry, burned. He now marked the wet 
spots, and the winter following, sledded from a 
gravelly hill joining the swamp, sufficient dirt to 
make those spots dry and hard. The next year 
he harrowed the land and sowed with timothy, 
clover, and red-top, and, instead of an unsightly 
frog-pond, and rookery for blackbirds to harbor and 
destroy his corn, he has a beautiful meadow yield¬ 
ing three tons of hay to the acre. He has given 
it a light top-dressing of manure to warm and 
sweeten it, and now wonders that generation after 
generation should have passed away without hav¬ 
ing made this simple improvement. 
J. Thomas. 
Worcester, Mass., Jan. 4, 1844. 
WORN-OUT LANDS. 
I find Massachusetts is full of worn-out land— 
large farms, not a tittle of which are cultivated, 
as they ought to be. These frequently have large 
houses on them, many of which have cost more 
than the farms would sell for. The sons of their 
owners, instead of staying at home and educating 
themselves for cultivating these lands in an im¬ 
proved manner, in many instances emigrate south 
and west in quest of a fortune, which one half the 
time they do not obtain after years off hard strug¬ 
gling and suffering, or they turn merchants and 
soon fail, or take to a starving profession already 
too full and overflowing; leaving their father, after 
draining every cent they can from him for a col¬ 
lege education or an outfit, to carry on the farm 
as he best may in his old age. Thus situated, 
he can not afford to hire laborers to assist him, 
and he has no heart to make improvements him¬ 
self; he therefore goes on in the old routine, makes 
what he can, and sends his yearly gains, if any 
there happen to be, to purchase new lands in the 
west. I find such a course as this, one of the 
greatest bars to improvement in my native state. 
Many of the farmers now are alarmed at the 
facilities which the western railroad offers for 
bringing western produce to Boston ; but I think 
these fears are without cause, for they can turn 
their attention in Massachusetts to raising fruits, 
vegetables, and indeed all such bulky articles as 
can never be transported any great distance at a 
profit. Besides, the manufacturing villages, since 
the revival of business, are affording good markets 
to everything raised in their vicinity; and by use 
of the railroads, the farmers can transport many 
things to Boston and sell at a fair profit, which 
(hey could not do before; and then they make 
their purchases there, which saves them from 10 
to 20 per cent., so that upon the whole, I think 
the railroads in a few years, from the great facili¬ 
ties they offer, will even be found beneficial to the 
farmers here themselves. 
A Traveller. 
SILK CULTURE. 
Since I met you in New York, I have had a 
French treatise on silk handed me, a part of which 
is translated. It recognises the use of the mul¬ 
berry-leaf for making paper of all kinds, and the 
fibrous bark for fabrics. While I have been day 
and night examining the subject, French ingenuity 
has stepped in before me, and done up the thing; 
but it has not given the whole manner of opera¬ 
ting, which we need. Have you not some inge¬ 
nious mechanics to construct a machine, with the 
best means of separating the bark from the wood, 
and the best mode also of converting the foliage 
into good paper ? It will be done sooner or later 
I am confident; but we want it in the spring, par¬ 
ticularly to use up the stalks to be headed down 
in April or May. The first No. of the translation 
from Mr. Fraissinet, you will see in the Hampshire 
Gazette of this week, on the subjects of mulberry 
paper and bark-silk. No. 2 may appear next 
week, and is very important to silk-growers, show¬ 
ing that there is nearly 100 percent, difference in 
the use of foliage for raising cocoons. That to 
produce one cwt. of cocoons, 20 to 22 cwt. of foli¬ 
age of grafted, or trees propagated by grafting 
buds, cuttings, or layers, is necessary; while 
twelve to thirteen cwt. of leaves from seedlings will 
accomplish the same result. If such be the fact, 
and that the trees from seed are more hardy and 
durable than any other mode ot propagation, why 
may it not be useful to renovate mulberry planta¬ 
tions every few years ? This idea is not altogeth¬ 
er new; an eminent and skilful botanist advanced 
a similar suggestion to me on the introduction of 
the Canton and Asiatic seeds. As respects my¬ 
self, 1 have, and can raise, plenty of seeds of the 
best kinds from my plantations. It may be found, 
that as the trees acquire age, the ground will be 
filled with roots, and that many decay and die. 
Since my return from New York, a discovery 
has been made here by competent and experienced 
operators, and by sure tests, that the Pongee silk, 
so called, is a vegetable production, (as I had sup¬ 
posed, from the fibrous bark,) and that it never 
passed through the silk-worm. The test is satis¬ 
factory to my mind. 
To encourage the silk culture, a bounty is need¬ 
ed, and I hope our good legislature will encourage 
new beginners. We had a bounty which has ex¬ 
pired by its own limitation. I wish for something 
