Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-04-26
DISMAL swAMP's BIG CANAL.
1t Has Been Decided to Increase Its
Depth to Ten Feet.

1t Has Been Decided to Increase Its
Depth to Ten Feet.
company, which recently purchased the
Dismal Swamp canal, has decided to in
crease tie depth of that artificial waterway
| to ton feet, in order to render 1t more
available for purposes of navigation.
This canal, running from the south branch
| Of the Elizabeth river to Pamlico sound,
| passes through one of the most wild and
secluded regions of the United States Not
| in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado is to
be found more complete isolation from
mankind. Not in the state of Washington,
the forest paradise, are trees of greater
size to be discovered. 1t is a morass I'M
surpassed in desolation by any part of the
famous Everglades of Florida. Yet this
vast tract covering large part of Vir-
| ginia and North Carolina, though deserted
by human beings and only traversed by
bitches, could have been reached by a shot
from one OF the great guns on board the
ships recently assembled at Norfolk for the
naval parade.
The canal is 35 miles long and so feet
wide. 1t was built for traffic and to make
available the timber yielded by the forests
Dy the dismal Swamp Company, of which
George Washington was one of the original
incorporators A very curious industry
prosecuted in this strange region is fishing
for sunken logs These are the stems Of
great trees which have lain in the water
Tor centuries perhaps, preserved from decay
by elements which the juniper roots are
supposed to contribute. Men drag for them
with graphing hooks Timber can be got
IN this way much more cheaply than by
going into the woods and cutting down the
giants Of the thicket-grown morass, trans
portation to market being easier.
The Fauna of the Swamp.
AS might be imagined, the fauna Of the
Dismal Swamp is peculiar. The trees being
mostly juniper, cypress and black gum,
there are few which bear nuts and SO there
are not many tree squirrels OF course,
rodents of species which live underground
are absent. Bears are very abundant, ard
hundreds of them are killed every wear
within the limits of the great morass, There
are considerable numbers of horned cattle
the progeny of individuals which have
escaped from domestic herds. They are
mostly small and black. They are extreme
ly wild, and when hunted are often danger
Gus to the sportsman. Combats between
the bulls and the bears are said to be as
frequent as on Wall street. The method
adopted by the bear in these fights is to
spring upon the back of the bulls neck and
rend the muscles which support the head
thus rendering the horns harmless The
cattie are occasionally enticed out into the
cultivated fields by offerings of salt and
are led to join civilized herds.
Durlng the old slave days considerable
part or the Dismal Swamp was drained by
aitches. These were dug wherever they
happened to be wanted and without any
general system. If the same amount OF
labor had been devoted to one comprehen-
slVe scheme covering the entire region IL
would nave sufficed to redeem the whole
OF the swamp to agriculture. Doubtless
THIS Will be accomplished eventually 1t is
reckoned that the achievement would rem
ger an area available for tillage which
would produce sl6oO,O00 of value per an
mum. The reclaimed land Yields from so
to 100 bushels of shelled corn per acre II
is enormously rich, the soil being an accu-
mutation of vegetable matter deposited
.nrough centuries on centuries. Whereas
In an ordinary forest the products of decay
are steadily absorbed by the atmosphere
tanned.
Large Area of Swamp Land,
In the eastern half Of the United States
there are not less than 100000 square miles
| OF swamps, which could be made available
for agriculture by civil engineering expe-
dients. The aggregate products of the land
thus reclaimed would be equal to those OF
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois combined This
is matter of great interest and moment.
now that the tillable public lands have ali
been disposed of. During the time of
Saxon domination in England that country
was TO great extent occupied by morasses,
which nave since been cleared away. The
| sites OF these boys are now indicated by
the great and persistent fertility of the
SOIL which they once occupied.
Swamps yield, in their natural state m
number of valuable products One of these
Is peat. The peat of American boys has
been little used for fuel. however In New
England efforts have been made to press by
machinery and otherwise prepare neat in
such fashion that IL should be marketab Bile.
| but without success. 1t could not be pro-
| duced in this shape for less than 81 a ton.
and 1t has the advantages of being very
| ashy and of peculiar odor Fire made
| from II Is not lasting. Peat is dug by
| farmers to some extent for fertilizing the
| soil ~
Through the operation of chemical agen-
| cies iron is deposited from water in
morasses. Thus almost every swamp con-
| tains more less bog iron" as N Is
called Beds Of this sort of iron ore are
sometimes foot or more thick In New
England Ii has been much EMPLOYED
| though II is only suitable for foundry pur-
| poses. There are in that part of the coun-
Try not less than sixty square miles of beds
from 1OO.OW.000 tons to 5O0,O0O,0OO tons.
| 1nfusorial earths, deposited in swamps are
utilized for packing steam pipes and for
other important purposes They are com
posed of the fiinty shells of minute yege-
table organisms. which md the still waters
of a morass suitable for their propagation.
Good for Cranberries.
Another important use for swamps is the
cultivation of cranbe-ries, the land en-
ployed for this purpose requiring to be
periodically flooded with water The bog is
first stripped of vegetation by cutting away
| the upper layer of turf and removing IT.
On the surface a coating of sand three
| inches to one foot in depth is placed, in
which the plants are rooted. Then by con-
venent dams the surface is made ready for
flooding at the required time Farmers say
| that the <oots of plants strike down
| through the sand into the soil. getting their
| nourishment from the latter. This is
| probably mistake. the scientific opinion
| being that the cranberries grow wholly
| in the sand, getting such nutrition as they
! need from the water. Over 100000 acres OF
! northern swamps are devoted to cranberry
| culture. On Cape Cod this is great in
| dustry, and so profitable that II has very
much improved the condition of the people
In that region.
Sweeping With Hose.
| From the Chicago Dispatch.