MISCELLANEOUS SOILS. 
55 
spring and early summer. In this soggy condition the land is 
often so soft that it will not support the weight of stock. Dur¬ 
ing the late summer, especially during dry seasons the marshes 
dry out so that farm stock can safely go almost anywhere, and 
the peat frequently becomes so dry that the danger from fires 
is something which must be considered. When fire once gets 
started in the peat it is very difficult to extinguish, and some¬ 
times continues to burn until stopped by the fall rains. Prac¬ 
tically all of the material mapped as peat is sufficiently high 
in organic matter so that it will burn when dry. 
A number of large drainage ditches have been extended into 
and through the large marsh tracts, but these only supply par¬ 
tial outlets and in order to have the land sufficiently drained 
for the safe cultivation of crops numerous lateral ditches sup¬ 
plemented with tile drains are necessary. In the vicinity of 
cranberry marshes the drainage is restricted by the dams which 
form reservoirs for storing water so that the cranberries may 
be flooded when necessary. Outside of the cranberry marshes 
only very few lateral ditches have been installed, so that on 
but few if any tracts are the peat lands properly and sufficiently 
drained. From work already done there appears to be sufficient 
fall so that from an engineering standpoint it would be pos¬ 
sible and profitable to drain all of the peat land in this county. 
Native vegetation .—The present timber growth on the peat 
marshes consists of tamarack, alder, poplar, willows, and various 
other water loving trees. Only a comparatively small propor¬ 
tion of the peat marshes are timbered, most of them being open 
and treeless or nearly so. The open marshes support a growth 
of coarse marsh grass, wire grass or sphagnum moss, through 
which are scattered a small and stunted growth of water loving 
shrubs. Some of the grass marshes are pastured or cut for 
hay. The moss and trees are usually found on the wettest parts 
of the marsh while the grasses are most common on the parts 
of the marsh land which are better drained. 
Present agricultural development .—While peat is an exten¬ 
sive type in Jackson county it is at present of limited impor¬ 
tance agriculturally. Some cultivation is being attempted at 
several points, notably on Trowe’s Marsh 5 and 6 miles north¬ 
west from Millston, on the Ring Marsh in Sec. 24 T. 21 N., R 
2 W., and on the Albright Marsh in Sec. 30 and 31 T. 20 N., 
