Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-05
GOOD PROFIT IN SwAMps
AQUATIC FARMING AS
MEANS OF MAKING MONEY.
Crops That Could Be Gathered From
Water-Cress. Grasses. Frogs
and Terrapin.
from the Popular Science Monthly.

L rom tho Popular Science Monthly.
There is natural resource available in
many parts OF the country. indeed. on
large number Of farms or Ia larger unused p
tracts of the entire Atlantic ard Miss ssip-
pI valley region. that is not only almost
wholly neglected. but the neglect of which
Involves number of phases Of economic
loss. This loss becomes more serious and
the reparation the more difficult as time
pa sses. and hence note OF warning and
appeal seems justified
The present tendency is 10 reduce not
only all accessible forest areas 10 ordi-
nary farm cultivation. but by drainage
Of all possible swamp areas TO still fur
Their increase the area for ordinary tllage
and to decrease those tracts which have
in some degree the function OF holding
and regulating the outflow of our ra infall.
without attempting 10 discuss all the
economic problems connected with this
phase OF the subject. We may note that
1t affects the constancy OF water level
over considerable areas the flow OF
streams with its bearings on flood disas-
tiers and navigation. but perhaps more vi
tally the carriage of fertility from the
farming regions to the sea, where, if il
ever becomes available as a human re-
source. IL Is only SO remotely advanta-
geous To the farm or 10 the nation that
ii must be counted an economic loss.
The assumption seems to have been.
ba sed. doubtless. on our knowledge OF but
one kind OF farming that every bit OF
land not under ordinary farm culture was
loss and therefore To be transferred
rapidly as possible to cultivated fields
To this end. forests have been felled. and
iowland swamps and marshes. even In
Guiding many extensive and valuable
bodies of shallow water. have been
drained This means that instead OF act
! ing as natural reservoirs and ,onservators
of moisture and fertility. their surplus
moisture content has been discharged
rapidly as possible into the rivers and
SO on to the seas.
We have in America practically no
established system OF cropping our wa
| Ter areas. 1t lis true that some progress
| has been made in the sponge farming
of Florida and oyster farming in Rhode
| Island. Connecticut. Virginia. North
| Carolina and louisiana but even these
need further development to utilize the
natural possibilities.
Fresh Water Culture.
But SO far fresh water culture
goes. there is scarcely a beginning.
Something has been accomplished in
fish culture in some sections, but even
here the full utilization Of the resources
of a body OF water is but poorly ac-
| complished few Sporadic efforts have
been made here and there i'm the cul-
ture of frogs and turtles. but how many
| of them with such attention to the sub
Ject as to warrant the term culture? In
| fact. these efforts have often resulted
in failure and their projectors been
| looked upon as Missionaries, worthy the
/ contempt of the hero in the 'Virginian."
| The farmer who drains and cultivates
an acre of swampy land on his farm
gains that much additional space for
| his ordinary culture and tor a time at
least ii may be unusually productive.
In tain hn ,,,t1o tod 10,
| debris of years. but would Ii not be far
greater wisdom to dredye out occa-
| sionally a portion of this accumulation
to spread upon the higher ground and
| keep the acre as a source of fertilizing
| material for the years to come. This
seems all the more desirable when II is
| remembered that this basin must COL
lect quantities of the finest end most
fertile parts of the soil washed from
the higher ground. Moreover L hope to
| show that there is good reason to ex-
pect that the acre can be made SO pro-
ductive over and above this function OF
conserving fertility that q will be worth
| more in water than IL could be as Gull
| tivated land.
! What is needed I'm the matter OF util-
| fzation of our great tracts of marshy
! or swampy land is some such systematic
study and the development OF some
| such adapted system as is in progress
| OF development in the systems of dry
| farming" in the arid or semi-arid re-
| giOnS OF the weSt-a system which will
| intelligently conserve and utilize our
heritage of water. not throw IL igno-
| rantly away and reduce our upiands TO
| a condition of sterility.
| Frog farms. turtle farms. fsh farms
by themselves might be put in the same
category as skunk farms and fox farms:
| useful to utilize certain minor tracts OF
| otherwise worthless land. but what is
needed. if any general good Is to follow.
is a rational system applicable to the
| treatment of all tracts of level swampy
land especially those at the head wa
tiers of the great river systems and i'm
the coastal swamps of the great lakes
| and river deltas-in fact. to all areas
where a fairly constant water level is
possible.
Possible Crops.
| 1t is evident that i'm the nature OF
| things wherever private ownership ex-
! lists or is possible. the effort inevitably
will be toward gaining the largest inn
mediate return from any such area. and
the only hope of preserving these
| swampy tracts as reservoirs of water
| will be tn hold them as public reserva-
tions or to devise some system OF pro-
duction which will make them more
profitable with the water retained than
they can be with the water removed
! Hence an extended and careful study
of the crops available for culture i'm
! such tracts becomes a pressing neces-
sity. Such a study will OF necessity in
voIve years of investigation. both OF
the practices of countries where some
sucb systems exist and OF possibilities
under our own conditions Of available
| crops markets. machinery. etc.
| A short resume. however. of some OF
| the crops which already have some
claim to notice and those which give
promise of availability Will help 70
| show the possibility and practicabilty
of such system
Among the plant crops which may he
| mentioned is wafer cross. wnich Is
already an article of considerable com
mercial value, but probably much less
used in this country than elsewhere.
and doubtless much less than If the
supply were increased. Methods Of its
culture are. Of course. we'll known. and
would he simply matter of adapta-
ton to particular areas. The cranberry
| is also "a we'll known crop. adapted To
bog or swamp conditions and for which
there is unlimited demand.
! Some of the marsh grasses. cat tails.
rusheS and other plants make q most
abundant growth. and in association
| with other crops could no doubt be
| cultivated to good advantage. The baS-