Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-09

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kA-W. n trouble with swamp
.-Xes-MLkEl. lands. A division Of
&-WEK the Interior Depart
ment has been en-
gagged In adjusting
claims for OVERLOOKED
lands for the last
torty-three years. and the end OF the work
Ii not in sight. Up to date Uncle Sam has
patented 81 COO. 600 acres OF swamps out of
S0.OO0o0o acres claimed. Claims for atou,
100000 acres are pending now The tracts
concerned include the Everglades Of Flori-
da, the area OF which is estimated at 3.ooo.-
900 acres. 1t has not been possible to pat
emit the Everglades because they have never
been surveyed and cannot be accurately de-
scribed. They include many islands and
even hills. which cannot be considered as
swamp lands or patented as SUCH. The
location and extent OF these patches are
not known: otherwise II would be possible
to patent the whole OF that great OVERLOOKED
wilderness from fits exterior borders. The
necessary explorations are likely to be
nade before long.
Meanwhile the outer margin OF the Ever
glades . being patented as fast as II is re-
claimeo. The watery wild is growing stead
lily smaller. owing to draining operations
on fits borders and also to the fact that the
streams flowing into 1t are being cut or
and used by farmers for irrigation. Owing
to similar causes hikes In various parts of
the United States have been gradually dry
ing up. In Wisconsin and Minnesota thou
sands OF small lakes have gone dry within
the last few years. the water that formerly
supplied them being utilized Cor agriculture.
question has arisen as to whether these
lake beds should be regarded as swamp
lands, and Congress has been appealed 20
for q decision on this point.
Everglades Described.
The wilderness called the Everglades is
vast lake of fresh water, 100 miles long
by 90 to 80 miles wide. ordinarily unruffled
by a ripple. II is studded with myriads of
islands OF all shapes and sizes. The water
is fresh. pure. limpid. and from one to six
feet deep. A deposit of decayed vegetable
matter. representing the accumulation of
ages, is spread over the bottom. Beneath
this is white sand and limestone rock. The
water is covered with tall saw grass, which
shoots up its straight and slender stems
from the shallow bottom to a height Of ten
feet above the surface.
The word "everglades' 10 a corruption OF
Everglades" the original name having
been given by the English. This wild soli-
tude. at present inhabited by no human
being. oniy needs to be drained in order to
be capable Of sustaining a population OF
&c. 900. 1t obtain ed additional interest from
the fact that 1t is the only bit OF semi-trop-
ical territory over which the flag of tbs
Union waves. The project Of retaining the
vast overlooked lands Of southern Florida
has been under discussion for the last fifty
years. 1t remained. however. for an asso-
citation OF Philadelphia capitalists to carry
the enterprise into practice. One feature OF
the work accomplished by them has been
the battling out of Lake Okeechobee a great
sheet of water fifty miles long by thirty
miles wide 10 the north OF the Everglades
Lake Okeechobee receives the whole
drainage Of central Florida. Its surface
es to carry OF its water. the tendency has
beer: to dry Up vast areas OF partly over
flowed lands to the northward. This proce s.
has been assisted by connecting a chain Of
as TO drain of their waters into the great
lake. Thus thousands Of square miles Of
hitherto useless territory are being rapidly
transformed into a garden. Eventually
Lake Okeechohee will be Joined to the A.
lantic ocean by q canal 800 feet wide and
twelve feet deep. which will pour fits floods
into the sea. The level OF the lake is con-
s.derably above that Of the ocean. It is
estimated that the canal will cost &, 600 COO
Using the Reciafmed Land.
IOItiouS VI tneoe pdftLy CNefEOWeo lanoo
in Florida are as much as seventy feet
above the ocean level Only q few bitches
we're required to transform them into dry
land by draining their water or into Lake
Okeechobee and thence into the sea. The
great canal will make go square miles
available for agriculture. The reclaimed
land is a vegetable mold of wonderful rich
ness. many feet In depth. 1t is easily dug
with the steam dredges. bitches will before
long checkerboard the land. which will be
broken for planting by steam plows drawn
back and forth across the fertile acres by
engines on board of boats putting slowly
along canals On both sides Of the fields
This method of blowing costs about one
fourth as much as mule power. Much of
the land. entirely worthless a few years AGO
Is now valued at 500 an acre Garden
truck and rice are raised on it but its
future prospects lie in sugar production. Ii
yields from two to three tons of sugar per
acre. In fact, there Is here a region that is
destined some day to produce more sugar
IMAM Is now grown In Cuba. Assisted by
sugar beet farming in more northern iati-
tudes Of the United States, II will drive
imported sugar out Of the market
In the eastern half of the United States
are lov.eo square miles of swamps which
could be reclaimed. The redeemed Lands
would yield agricultural products as great
In quantity and as valuable as those OF
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois combined Such
iaifOS are Tue TlcneSt IN the world. Whereas
In ferest decaying vegetable materials are
eventually absorbed and carried away by
the atmosphere. In n swamp they are re-
tanned and accumulate. the layer of rich
organic stun becoming thicker every year
In Illinois, by the way, the draining of
swamps has been carried to a more ad-
vanced point than anywhere else ia this
country. The percentage OF land under
cuiuvetion In that state is higher than any
whers else In the world. except Belgium
Products Of Farm savanna,
One Of the most interesting Of the over
flowed areas in this country Is the Dismal
Swamp. which covers a large part OF yir-
ginis and North Carolina Already II has
been partly drained. and Eventually all of
1t will be redeemed for farming purposes.
When this has been accomplished II viii
yield something like sl6.oOo.0oo worth of
products annually. Its fauna Is peculiar.
There are few birds within its confines and
small ground mammals are absent, of
course. However. there are q good many
bears and not q few wild cattle strayad
from domestic herds. curious Industry
practiced In the region Is fishing for sunken
logs. which have iain IN the water Cor CEN
turtles. These are easily conveyed to mar
ket.
Certain valuable products are obtained
from swamps In their natural state One
OF these IL bog iron ore. deposited from the
water by chemical action. 1t il estimated
that in New England alone there are sixtv
square miles Of this ore one foot thick.
Diatoma ceous earths, useful for packine
afno M For