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Show RECLAIMING OUR VAST II AREA OF SWAMP LANDS Bill Introduced In Congress for Reclamation of Inundated Hill Land Under System Similar to that Adopted for Desert Lands. I Of late years tho public has had offered of-fered no little Information regarding tho watering of dry lands to make tho desert bloom; and now there nro signs public nttcntlon is to be called to the draining of swamp lands nnd tho transforming of these waste places. Recently a bill was Introduced In congress for tho reclamation of swamp lands under a system 'similar to thnt adopted for tho reclamation of tho deserts In tho southwest. As yet only a beginning has been mado, a beginning begin-ning that probably will somo day loud to legislative acilon. The total area of our swamp lands Is impressive, and it stands to reason this lnrgo portion of territory will some day bo coveted by our fast-Increasing population. "Wo aro feeding now nearly 80,000,000 of peoplo within tho boundaries of our own' country nnd sending enough material abroad to clothe and feed an almost equal number." num-ber." And when ono considers tho advantages ad-vantages offered by tho swamp lands ono wonders why experiments havo not sooner been mado in their reclamation. Authorities tell us swnmp lands enn bo reclaimed as cheaply as arid lands. Onco drained, swamp land in drained for good. Drained lands are moro fer-tilo fer-tilo than the averago agricultural soil, require little or no artificial fertilizing. fertiliz-ing. And, whnt Is of decided Importance, Impor-tance, generally theso lands nro located lo-cated in tho midst of well settled regions, re-gions, a market near nt hand, transportation trans-portation provided. And not only for utilization of wasto lands Is it urged tho swamps bo drained, but becnuso many of them nre such n monaco to health. In an artlclo on "Reclamation of Salt Marsh Lands," In tho circular bureau of soils, department of agri culture, attention is called to tho fact thnt marshes and stagnnnt pools aro tho principal breeding places of mosquitoes. mos-quitoes. Sclcnco has shown that mosquitoes mos-quitoes aro the most common, if not tho only moans of convoying malarial gorms and introducing theso gorms Into tho human system; and that mosquitoes mos-quitoes are tho only proved causo of the infection of yellow favor. In VnJy vast aroas of land havo been nan-doned nan-doned becauso of tho mosquito post. Whllo our salt marshes do not seem to present tho conditions necessary for tho breeding of tho species of malaria mosquitoes in this country, thoy nro breeding places for Immense numbers of other mosquitoes that prove a pest to porsons and to stock, lu somo cases so troublesome thoy lowor tho valuation valua-tion of tho land. Engineers bellovo tho ovorglades of Florida can ho drained, nnd here would bo added to our rich lands 7,000,-000 7,000,-000 tillable ncres. Thcro nro 5,000,000 acres of swamp lands in Michigan, between be-tween C.000,000 nnd 8,000,000 ncres In Minnesota, 4,000,000 In Wisconsin. In Now Jersey and Virginia thoro " largo areas. Salt marshes nro prominent promi-nent features of nearly all tho states bordering tho Atlantic and Pacific. In preparing this nrtlclo we have found it dlfllcult to get any very recont writings on tho subject of tho reclaiming reclaim-ing of tho swamps, but nro looking shortly for n Hood of literature on tho subject. Somo years ago qulto a good denl was said, u crusndo started for tho reclamation of our salt marshes; tholr vnluo an farming lands emphasized, nnd thnt In tho existing stato they wore a serious meimco to tho health of tho peoplo living In their vicinity. Notablo among tho govornmont reports re-ports Issued nt tho tlmo was Shaler's "Sea-Coast Marshes of tho United Suites," nnd Nesbifs "Tidal Marshes." Writing on tho sea-coast marshes of tho eastern part of tho country, Shaler said: "Tho great advuntngo of tho northern marsh areas is found in tho tact that thoy gonerally nro near tho largo centers of population of the -ountry, where they will have a high , t'uluo as market garden soils or fields ' 'or tho raising of liny. When brougrt 'tito their best stato such ureas will, measured by tho prlco of othor lands In tho samo neighborhood, havo n vnluo of not loss than 200 an ncyo. As tho total rcclnlmnble area between Now York nnd Portlund (Mo.) probably V exceeds 200,000 ncres, tlio money valuo of their best stato will amount to nt least $40,000,000. Tho cost of reclaiming reclaim-ing these lands nnd reducing them to cultivation should not exceed the fifth of this sum." Shnler siwko of tho need for well skilled engineering direction In the reclaiming of tho marshos, nnd thnt it was to bo regretted tho experiments had not been dtrectod by some one Uilned In tho work as In tho very successful work on tho northern shores of Europe. In Europe suit marshes are considered consid-ered tho most fertllo of lands. For many years past largo nrcas in Denmark, Den-mark, Belgium rind Holland havo been under cultivation. Tho Fens In England Eng-land have been diked nnd ditched and about a million acres of matchless for- tlllty been reclaimed. Thcro are many kinds of salt marshes; marsh-es; somo baro mud flats without vegetation; vege-tation; others with heavy growth of grass, sometimes thero is a sod a foot and more thick. It is a comparatively comparative-ly slow process to get tho salt lands rid of water aud saltlnoss, but In thoso cases where proper precautions havo been taken, sufficient tlmo and labor allowed, tho lands havo given good returns. Tho author of tho circular says It Is generally conceded ono ncre of reclaimed salt marsh Is worth four or flvo ncres of upland, nnd that according ac-cording to tho well substantiated figures fig-ures of Shnler, tho cost of reclamation should not exceed one-fifth tho final vnluo of tho land. Tho Ynnkeo fnrmcr hns found out that n certain class of bog lnnd can bo turned to profltnblo account In growing grow-ing thoicranborry, but when consideration considera-tion Is given the extent of our swnmp RECLAIMED SWAMP LAND NBA II THE EVEIIOLADES. innds it would Beem nothing hns been dono in tho developing of the possibilities possi-bilities that llo therein. Shaler, writing writ-ing in Sclonco In 1880, argues for tho utilization of our swamps and gives Information in regard to tho various classes of swamps in tho Unltod States. "Thoso neglected districts uro of groat extent nnd very vurled naturo. Thoy consist, in part, of lnnd which is somewhat some-what less fortlio than tho best soils, but which in overy othor respect Is fit for tillage. A preliminary study of tho Hold has shown tho ro-markablo ro-markablo fact that we havo left untouched un-touched in tho roglon cast of the Mississippi Mis-sissippi districts of easily drained swnmp lands amounting to moro than 50,000 squaro miles of area. The lnun-dated lnun-dated lands of tho lower Mississippi remain in tho stato in which they wero when first seen by men, whllo similar areas in England woro long ago won to tho stnto of tho most fortlio fields of that country. "Our Amorlcan Inundated lands aro divisible Into sevornl classes, determined deter-mined by tho condition of tholr origin. Of thoso the most Important nro the tldo wator marshes,' tho lacustrine swnmps of tho glaclntod district, tho dolta swamps of tho Mississippi, and tho class of wet lands or upland swamps whoro tho marshy condition Is due to tho action of plant In retaining retain-ing water under tho surfaces of considerable con-siderable districts. "Preliminary studies of tho great area of fresh water marshes, extending extend-ing frqm tho mouth of tho James rlvor south to Albemarlu sound, show that In that district this class of marshos covers nn urea of nbout 4,000 squaro miles. This cluss of marshes ' cun easily und cheaply bo dralnod and, when so improved, thoy ufford exceedingly exceed-ingly rich soils. Along tho outer margin mar-gin of those vast morasses, some hundred hun-dred thousands acres Imvo been won to culture Thoso lauds are remarkably remark-ably fertile. It seems llkoly that of theso easily reclaimed upland morasses, morass-es, resembling tho Dismal Swamp, thero is a total urea in tho southern states of not loss than 25,000 squaro mllos. In tho northern states tho -oa of improvable swamp land is less x-censlve, x-censlve, but thoro is not a state in which they do not constitute an Important Im-portant part of tho land reserve which the coming generation will bo glad to use." ClUMSTOPHEK WEIISTBR |