Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-05-21

L
- 49, --.----
fiaiaNare's Marshes.
The department of agriculture has Just
issued report ON the Tide marshes of |
Ihs United States" which contains mntter
Of much local interest. Delaware occu-
pies u good space in the report, being rep
resented by communications from State |
Agent j. 4. Budd, Chief Justice |
ComeBys, j. u, Fcnimnrc, William Rey-
bold, A. Colbunl, and Franklin b. Cotton |
of the National Dredging Company; n
corps of correspondents peculiarly well |
qualified to discuss marsh lands and their |
uses and possibilities.
MIR. Budd classiies the tide marsh lands
ON the Delaware river, and its tributaries
MS "blue mud" peat" and scat tail''
marshes, ranking in value in that order.
The first comprise deposit of blue
mud upon white clay, are very solid, easily
litchcd and banked and, with liberal
''es,ing of lime, produce corn, wheat and
hi1tny abundantly.
Tie second are lower, often underlaid
IN sand OF soft mud and cost all they
.e worth TO reclaim.
The third are almost irreclaimable and
orthless when reclaimed; the mud being
nard, sour and unproductiye.
IN New Castle county the marshes have
-en reclaimed at an average cost of $1O0
per acre and are yielding 30 to 40 bushels
of wheat, GO to IS bushels of corn and Il
to p tons of timothy per acre. In Kent
there are large stretches of reclaimable
marsh now yielding salt hay which finds
d market Mt IS per ton. One hundred
thousand acres in Kent and Sussex, now
breeding mosquitoes and malaria, might
be reclaimed and made valuable land.
Entertainments and sluices are the only
means depended ON for the reclamation
of Delaware marshes and, where failure
has attended the work, it has generally
been brought about by mistaken
economy in not constructing the banks of
sufficient hight and base to Withstand ex-
traordinary storms. By counties Mr..
Budd furnishes the following estimate of
reclaimed and unreclaimed marsh lands:
New Castle, 10000 acres reclaimed, Ii, 900
unreclaimed Kent, 5000 reclaimed,
$4,000 unreclaimed Sussex, 5000 re-
claimed, $4,000 unreclaimed. A single
glance at the figures is sufficient to revive
nj ,,f 10. .,e ID
both during mosquito week, when the
cattle forsake the grass and stand at the
edge of the surf until hunger drives
them back to snatch a few hurried mouth.
fuls.
As to quality, Mr.. Budd rates the
marshes of New Castle ut IS per cent Of
blue mud and % of peat and cat tail
of Kent at 50 per cent of blue mud and
30 per cent of peat and cat tail, and Of
Sussex at 10 per cent of blue mud and &c
per cen If peat ind cat tail
The tiers of the other gentlemen
named are likewise of much agricultural
and sanitary interest. Chief Justice
Comegys relates his experience witt
Bombay Hook marsh land, of which, h,
says, after II trial extending over sever
years, that the substratum of the re
claimed surface being made up "of mer
vegetable fibre, l came to the conclusion
that, even if thoroughly drained, the Ian,
would be worthless for cultivation il
grain or grass (until in the long future i
became solidifed by stock roaming owe
it,, by reason of its excessive dryness an,
want of body. Indifferently drained as i
was, the surface would yet burn almos
like finder, and my own marsh had man,
holes where the fire had burned to tn
moisture below. In fact, there was NOR
'nr TO the banks from fire than iron
tides, the Inter, of Il dcstructiy
re, not occurring yearly even, whcrea
ners and others were constantly i'm
ling the banks"
II may be remarked that the iudgmen
pronounced by the chief Justice upol
Bombay Hook marshes recalls the verde
Of similar import which the late Samut
Townsend expressed i'll language NOR
rcible than elegant to the Legislature d
1879. ....-.
We close this notice of report whic
should be- widely circulated by the follow
ing extract from the letter of Wilia1
Reybold:
If, after reclamation, marshes are keJ
well drained, there is less Of malarial lis
case than when not reclaimed and the pt,.
of mosquitoes is almost done away. VIVA
binders the more rapid improvement {
marsh lands IN DelawarcY Banking OF
rivers and venting the waters that fall upo
the lands Is contest with nature, and til
Individual is often unequal TO the task. Tn
State generally does not assist him, br
taxes his reclaimed land, in addition to tn
river bank tax. The late John NJ. Cnytu
frequently said in my hearing that us
settled principle, the State and count
should never exact taxes ON meadow land,
The bost high meadow is as valuable ms an
upland for agricultural purposes. Belo'
the best may be found every grade of valu,
and some good for nothing.