The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-20
MONEY IN MARSH
n THE VICINITY OF sAvAN-
COULD DE EASILY RECLAIMED
RICH AS NILE MUD.
.oouDING TO ANALYSIS MADE OF
soil OF McaUEEN's ISLAND.

,,tiou for an Embanlxment
,.bt BE Secured From River
,.ings In Deepening Channel
rhe Usual Way Is to Have Clam
-,.ou Dredge Build Embankment
-.,.octlv From Diggings-Millions
.,crrs of Reclaimed Land I'm Eu-
N. and Also Some in This Coun-
Advantages McQueen's Island
,vou1d OFFER for the Experiment.
recsnt article in a New York paper
.r,,, attention to the work of re-
living and making arabic a great
| .-ot NJ the salt marsh on Long Island,
~.ticb is now going on, has drawn the
..+ar+ion of a prominent Savannahian
| =. the possibility of like work being
.,naart ken for the redemption of much
. the marsh land that is near Savan-
ooh PARTICULARLY that lying between
+bfs city and Tybee along the Tybee
pailrosd, which from it's geographical
situation is well adapted for a trial of
The experiment., and which, from the
/ ratlre Of it's soil, the gentleman thinks
would nay many times over the cost Of
the work
That the work is feasible the Savan-
| nathan has no doubt, for he has seen
similar work done in Holland, where
hundreds of thousands of acres have
bsen reclaimed; in Belgium, where the
work is on a not much smaller scale,
- !
and in Washington state, near Seattle.
Ee is also firmly convinced that it
would pay if certain kind of crops were
planted. for, while searching for alum
mum in the soil of McQueen's Island,
he had analyses made of it, and some
/ nj the most expert chemists of this
country have said that the soil is quite
as rich and of a nature similar to that
found at the Delta of the Nile.
Capt Cassius E. Gillette was asked
if ii would not be possible to have the
earth dredged from the river in the
4 work of deepening the channel. dis
charged on land and thus furnish the
material for the banks that would be
needed to keep out the tides. He said
that there was no reason that it could
not be done at certain part of the
river. but that the dredges used in this
NUlk DrOuRIlL
state that if discharged on land it
would spread widely and that though
ii might raise the level of the land and
i thus serve for a foundation for a sub
se1uent embankment, still to build al
embankment it would be necessary to
wait until the water had been drained
from the discharge of the dredges and
then collect the soil by means Of
wheelbarrows.
The usual way of doing such work
he said, is by the use of a clam-shel
dredge which Is tloated in its own cana
and digs and deposits the soil directly
where the embankment is desired
From an engineering standpoint, h
said, the plan offers no obstacles
whether the land would pay or no
after being redeemed it would take al
agriculturist to decide.
The gentleman first quoted has M
doubt on this point because of thu
analyses already mentioned and from
the further fact that the land, that i:
that of McQueen's Island is not {
salt marsh properly speaking, and
would need to be only dry enough tt
be worked when it would be cabablt
of supporting flourishing crops. An adj
ditional advantage in making the ex'
pertinent on this tract is to be found
in the fact that it is traversed by the
Tybee Road which would thus give
easy and quick access to the Savan'
nah and northern markets.
The pioneer in the scheme has nc
doubt that the land once reclaimed and
in condition to be cultivated, would
attract many desirable tenants, who
would be drawn by the excellent quail
ity Of the soil, the low prices that II
he cnIH at he nj
cess to a good market which would be
Insured by their nearness to Savan-
nah
This matter of retaining marsh
lands is the subject of a lengthy re-
pert by the Bureau of Soils in the
United States Department of Agricul.
lure. In this report it is stated that:
Everywhere in Europe salt marshes
are regarded as the most fertile Of
lands, In the east of England the Fens
10 the extent of more than a millior
acres, have been diked and ditched, anC
are now in a state of matchless fertil-
n.y. and large areas in Holland, Den
marx, Belgium and Northern Germany
nave been cultivated for many years.
But says the report, there is e
great advantage in the fact that all Of
J is near the large centers of popula.
uon where every acre will have a higl
.alue as market garden soil or field'
ior the raising of hay. When brought
mo their best state such areas will
measured by the price put upon othel
mus n the same neighborhood, have
a value Of not less than 5000 an acre
ana me cost of retaining is less thar
one-ffth Of this"
II IS not improbable that this mat
Yer OF reclaiming the lands near Savan.
Ian VIII be given serious consideration
W some of Savannah's business mer
~. 40" that the value of the land and
we ease of protecting from the en-
monuments of the water are known.