The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-01-17
plication of manure, and perhaps as long,


plication of manure, and perhaps as long,
as the reclaimed marshes.
For instance, in sight Of the window
where / write Ia q small, narrow, shallow
and crooked stream, which for many miles
runs through a fresh meadow. nearly q
half mile wide. Tho grass which grows
upon 1t is such that we need to bride the
cattle to eat n ton of 1t, by adding a ton of
grain to 1t. With as much of this hay as
they will eat they want more grain than MIR.
Miller feeds to his nOn.tuminating cows
without any hay. For any farmer owning
a few acres of this meadow TO try to make
English grass grow upon it would cost as
much as the land would be worth after
ward, l have no doubt but If a majority
OF those owning along the stream would
unite to buy the necessary machinery and
perform the labor, 1t might be done at a
comparatively small cost per acre. First,
They would need the apparatus for WIDEN
ing, deepening and Strengthening the chan
mel of the stream, which would, Ia connec-
ton with u system of side bitches, very eff
fectually drain the higher parts OF the
meadows. Then, with a portable railway
track, q few dump cars and, if practicable
a steam shovel, proceed to put the sand
hills and gravel banks along the edge of the
meadow, from which all the soil has long
ago washed into the boys, over them to the
depth Of a foot or less. Then "1low, kow
md harvest three tons of rcdtOp to the
acre." with less labor than il now REFUSES
to get a half ton of bog grass and bring it
10 the shore on hay poles.
"Here is work for several men of sense"
and men Of dollars, toe, which will benefit
every county in Massachusetts or in New
England, If followed up to the end. For
the same machines and the same kind of
labor which would be needed for these large
meadows along the river banks could also
be employed to advantage upon a smaller
scale upon the little isolated meadows which
are situated upon the smaller streams. Nor
would the improvement of th2se bogs be
the only good result, for the material OBJ
tanned from the rivers and ditchc3 could he
bIought back to make a soil where the sand
aud II avel were taken out, and thus fertile
land could be made there, where now is only
such as my correspondent describes by say
ing that we must put on 10 cents worth
of manure to get so or % cents worth of
crop" Nor would the improvement end
here, for more hay and better hay would
ever make necessary larger and better
barns, aud more and better cows, which
would again call for improvement in the
pastures. Thus one improvement would
follow after and result from another until
instead of 'bog hay cows" shivering in
cold barns and yards, we might hope to see
sleek, well-fed animals in comfortable
stables. Better hay, better COWS, more
milk, more and better butter, larger profits;
richer manure moro fertile lauds, better
crops, larger profits better buildings, bet
ter reads, less lebor, larger profits again
ali as a natural result of ditching, draining
and cultivating our bog meadows. What
Change" Farmers Club" "Agricul-
tural Society or ntighborhood will be the
first to enter upon such q good work ?