The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-10-26
DRAINING SWAMP LANDS;
DESTROYING THE FORESTS

When you drain a swamp, you
usually destroy a forest. Like all
other questions, there are two sides
10 this one. | notice in the Roanoke
Chowan Times an article from the
able pen of Mr.. Gilbert T. Stephen
son, also a clipping from The Wash
5ngton Post, in regard to draining
swamp lands in eastern North Caro-
lima. 1t is suggested that to drain
Nattamuskeet Lake, alone. would
mean the reclamation of 10000 acres
of land for CIVILIZATIONS; this of course
includes the swamps and forests that
surround the lake. The question nat
1,raIly arises, wOuld it be a good or
q bad thing to do? Some of our law
makers seem to be very much inter-
ested in preserving the forests of our
country for present needs and 70,
future generations, while others seem
to be bent on the destruction of
them.
One might say hat by draining
such lands as Mattamuskeet Lake., the
great Dismal Swamp, and others all
along the coast from Virginia to Flor
ida, you could at once cut out all the
timber. reclaim these immensely rich
lands for cultivation, thereby adding
to the present crops millions of pack
ages of truck. thousands upon thous-
ands of bales of cotton, and other
things too numerous to mention, that
it would greatly benefit the healthful-
ness of the country wen SO that the
few people who now live on the ridges
and higher plains of these sections
could move down into the very heart
of these swamps and that were,
and still retain their good health, that
it would then be easy to get immi-
grants from foreign countries-tha
Dutch, the German, the Jap, the
Finn. the Italian, and even the Jew
to move in among them and help to
fell the trees, manufacture the tim
Der and ship it away, help reclaim
these lands, help raise these enorn-
Gus crops and who would marry n
i~ntern1arry, raise families, who, alb
sorbing our civilization, would make
good American citizens.
Another night say, God has made
such places as MattamuSkeet Lake,
the Dismal swamp, by
forests Of noble trees bearing edible
nuts Of various kinds, and covered
with clinging vines of delicious grapes;
the still cool waters of the lakes tenn
ing with the finest of fish; the sWamps
and forests tocked with bear, deer,
turkeys, squirrels, oons opossums,
and lastly the fine timber trees, Tor
the economic use of mankind for gen
eratiOnS yet unborn.
Some may say this is sentimental.
If it checks the slaughter of our God
given forests, it is a worthy one.
Referring to the article from the
Post. it is stated that Mr.. John A.
Wilkinson, who lives at BelhaVen, is
having his men fell the timber trees
in tracts of five thousand acres at a
time, a match being set to it when
dry. Oh. what q prodigious waste! 1t
has been said that the man who causes
two ladies of grass to grow Where
onlv one grew before, is a publlc
b~enefactor. What of the man who
causes two trees to grow where only
one grew before, and lat of burning
up 5000 acres of timber trees at once
If our forests are to be destroyed,
where are future generations to get
their timber supply for fuel, manu-
f~acture. and for all purposes? II
might be asked with propriety, why
bring these lands into cultivation at
all? Why not grow trees on them,
which might in time be more pront-
able? These lands, rich as they are,
would probably add to our present
crops to an alarming extent. A large
per cent of them would likely De
planted in truck and cotton. n Ia"
of supply and demand would tnei
have to be reckoned with. The writer
knows of instances where there has
been great quantities of truck dumped
overheard from the Wharyes Of North
ern and Eastern cities for want OF q
price to pay the freight and the snip
pers were actually asked to pay the
reigh on their own produce, Whlch
was finally fed to the fish! BY ADDING
millions of packages OF truck 70 lnt
present crops, would it not make Il
Improbable to grow, and to add three
mr. fn1,, raj11iar hl les of cotton 10 I'LL