MASSACHUSETTS SWAMP DRAINING, ETC. 
21 
CATTLE-TIE. 
Fig. 5 is a chain for tying up cattle in their 
stalls. The large ring goes over a stationary 
round post set up by the manger, and the chain 
is fastened to the horns or around the neck. 
The hook at the end of the lower length of the 
chain is passed through either of the rings in the 
upper length, to suit the 
size at the base of the 
horns. It may be thought 
that this chain wears off 
the hair on the head of the 
animal, but this is not the 
fact. It is the neatest and 
most secure fastening in 
Cattle-Tie.—Fig. 5. use, and at the same time 
the most comfortable; as the animal slips the 
chain up and down the stationary post, by the 
large ring, as it wishes to move its head in feed¬ 
ing or getting up and lying down; it can also 
turn and lick itselt when thus fastened. The 
great superiority of a chain is its durability. It 
lasts an indefinite length of time, and is much 
stronger and more convenient to handle than a 
rope. Price from 37 to 50 cents. 
MASSACHUSETTS’ SWAMP DRAINING. 
The system of swamp-draining in this state, 
may, in part, perhaps, be illustrated by my own 
experience, and I therefore proceed to detail the 
operation with a large swamp I inherited, with 
the hill-land that surrounds it. 
The swamps in this and all other States, are 
formed in various ways; either by a rivulet 
sluggishly meandering through low land, which 
has not an outlet sufficiently deep to drain it; it 
may be supplied by springs with more water 
than escapes rapidly; it may be .entirely sup¬ 
plied by rains, so completely shut in by hills, as 
to afford no outlet; or, lastly, it may be inun¬ 
dated by the salt water at high tide. Each of 
these require a treatment somewhat unlike the 
other. 
My own swamp combined the two first con¬ 
ditions. It was a low quaking bog, of about ten 
acres and three-fourths, into which a small 
rivulet from an adjoining hill came dancing and 
tumbling along; but, when once at that point, 
seemed so much in love with the alders, the 
brakes, the cat-tails, and the long coarse reeds 
and grasses which it found there in profusion, 
that it seemed in no hurry to get away; and 
when, at last, like a truant loiterer, it came 
under the eye of its master again, it slunk 
away silent and ashamed, under cover of huge 
clusters of dwarf willows and water-beech. 
Besides this rivulet, which was sometimes dry, 
in midsummer or severe dry winters, I noticed 
the lower edges of the rim surrounding the 
swamp gave evidence of springs, which found 
an egress in the bog. I had observed, too, that 
when frozen in winter, that in several places 
the ice gave way to what we call air-holes, 
which was conclusive proof to me that there 
were springs under them. You may judge that I 
considered this a pretty formidable undertaking; 
but having heard of several similar achieve¬ 
ments, though on a smaller scale, I determined 
on undertaking this. 
My first operation was to commence a ditch at 
a point, about 35 rods in a direct line from the 
outlet of the swamp, where the rivulet made its 
first descent, in a short rapid having five feet 
fall. The excavation was through an alluvial 
soil, and was five feet deep, four feet on the bot¬ 
tom, and twelve to fifteen on the surface, accord¬ 
ing to the undulations. This was carried direct to 
the swamp, and the earth, most of which I scraped 
out with an ox-shovel, (by which a man and team 
will do the work of six or eight Irishmen,) was 
moved directly to the bed of the rivulet; and, 
although this meandered about in so'many di¬ 
rections as to run three times the length of my 
ditch between the same points, yet it was so 
much narrower than the latter, that I had dirt 
enough to fill it to a level with the field. I did 
not then expect to derive any other benefit from 
this reclaimed land than to make the little jut¬ 
ting capes formed by the sinuosities of the 
streamlet available for the plow, having always 
had to lose a full acre and three-fourths of 
worthless sod, when I broke up the other part of 
the field. But you shall see I soon made this 
the best part of it. 
I continued the ditch of the same depth and 
width, but at a slight angle from that outside or 
below the swamp, so as to go direct to the en¬ 
trance of the stream. This ditch, owing to some 
irregularity in the shape of the swamp, was 
about 40 rods long. I had completed the outside 
ditch in the spring, and waited till the inlet was 
nearly dry in summer, when I found a consider¬ 
able part of the water had drained off. I should 
have before said, that having meditated the in¬ 
vasion of the swamp the preceding winter, I 
had taken the precaution to cut off the largest 
alders on the proposed route of the ditch. This 
was all the clearing I had done, and the roots were 
removed, as we came to them,, by cutting off in 
a line with either side of the excavation, and 
undermining, and dragging out all the others. 
I had three modes of getting rid of the earth. 
The first was by throwing it into some tolerably 
deep holes near the excavation; the second was 
by a narrow tumbril running on the bottom of 
the excavation for a short distance, then up a 
slight depression in the bank, from which I had 
convenient access to the new surface of the re¬ 
cently-filled stream, and by this top-dressing I 
made the best land in the meadow. The bal¬ 
ance of the swamp dirt was thrown upon the 
bank. With a sledge, made something like a large 
stone-boat, with sides, and a head and tail piece, 
and the bottom quite rounding, to draw easily, 
I removed all this earth the following winter, 
after it had thoroughly drained, and when the 
ground was frozen. It formed an excellent 
bedding for my cattle-yard, sheep-fold, and pig¬ 
pens, besides affording more than I could con¬ 
veniently use for several compost heaps. Some 
of these were made with quick lime, some with 
butchers’ offal, and a large one from a livery- 
stable, and all of which I found most valuable 
manures, as the swamp muck used for this pur¬ 
pose was mostly peat or rich alluvion. A small 
