The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-12
RECLAIMING MARSH LANDS.

New York Sun

New Ork sun.
An fastener not familiar with the fiat
prairie lands of the West is duly impressed
when he approaches Chicago for the first
time and sees the prairies, almost as fiat as
billiard table, stretching far and wide
around that city. South of Chicago over
the boundary in Indiana there is a great
area of these fiat lands whose drainage is
so poor that marshes many thousands of
acres in extent have existed there since
long before the whites ever saw them.
These marshes in the northwestern coun-
ties of Indiana have always been regarded
as WORTHLESS. but with later ideas as to
drainage and the scientific reclamation of
swamps the farmers in that part of Indiana
have come to look upon the Kankakee
marsh lands in an entirely different light.
They believe the marsh lands may be who'll
ly reclaimed. and steps are now being taken
to set about the work.
Property owners in five counties are unit
drainage canal in the central States. A
contract has been let for the first fourteen
miles Of the canal in Laporte and Starke
counties. to cost $4,000.
The ditch will be eighty feet wide and six
teen feet deep. 1t will be extended in the
other counties to the Illinois State line.
distance of sixty miles. and the total cost
1t is asserted that this drainage channel
will be the means of retaining some scores
or thousands of acres. and everybody In
terested Is certain that the benefits derived
from the ditch will amply compensate for
We shall hear much more of this kind of
improvement in the future The geological
survey has estimated the extent of the
swamp lands throughout the country thai
may be reclaimed for agricultural pur-
poses at over, 1000 square miles: or more
than double the area of New York State.
For lack of anything better we are now
resorting to lands that may be made avail
able for tillage by drainage or irrigation.
Europe has had similar works for cen
turtles. About one-twentieth of her entire
tillable area has thus been reclaimed
A fifth of the most fertile lands of Great
Britain and Ireland were once such bog
districts as we find along our South Allan
tic coast. Marsh lands were very extensive
In Germany. but they are now centers Of
fruitfulness.
Some years ago Professor Shaler, for the
special study of the Southern swamp
regions and particularly of the Dismal
Swamp. which extends through southeast
Virginia and northeast North Carolina. In
his report he estimated that by deepening
the existing Dismal Swamp canal between
Portsmouth and Albemarle sound and
digging tributary bitches to the east and
west Of that canal an area of 10000 acres
might be turned into corn lands or market
gardens. The work. he said. might cost
SA,O0OOOO, but the money value of the i'm
100000.
Since Professor Shaler wrote his report
some areas in the Dismal Swamp have been
duce enormous crops of indian corn and "a are
well adapted for market gardening. Ac-
cording to the conclusions of our best en-
gineers and surveyors the South Atlantic
States contain drainable swamp lands and
shallow lakes that may add about 40 900
square miles of the most fertile lands to
our cultivable domain.
The time is coming when very serious
attention will be given to the reclamation
of all our swamp lands which to-day are
practically useless, but are capable of being
fertility.