n of obnoxious effluvia, arising from
stagnant water, dangerous to health.

Of the vast extent of such lands, some idea may be formed, by adverting
to the fact, that under the grants by Congress, of the public lands
given away to the States in which they lie, as of no value to the
Government and as nuisances to their neighborhood, in their natural
condition; sixty millions of acres, it is estimated, will be included.

These are only the public lands, and in the new States. In every
township in New England, there are hundreds of acres of swamp land, just
beginning to be brought to the notice of their owners, as of sufficient
value to authorize the expense of drainage.

To say that these swamps are the most fertile and the most valuable
lands in New England, is but to repeat the assertion of all who have
successfully tried the experiment of reclaiming them.

In their natural state, these swamps are usually covered with a heavy
growth of timber; but the greater portion of them have been partially
cleared, and many of them are mowed, producing a coarse, wild, and
nearly worthless grass.

The soil of these tracts is usually a black mud or peat, partly the
product of vegetable growth and decay on the spot, and partly the
deposit of the lighter portion of the upland soil, brought down by the
washing of showers, and by spring freshets. The leaves of the
surrounding forest, too, are naturally dropped by the Autumn winds into
the lowest places, and these swamps have received them, for ages.
Usually, these lands lie in basins among the hills, sometimes along the
banks of streams and rivers, always at the lowest level of the country,
and not, like Irish bogs, upon hill-tops, as well as elsewhere. Their
surface is, usually, level and even, as compared with other lands in the
old States. Their soil, or deposit, is of various depth, from one foot
to twenty, and is often almost afloat with water, so as to shake under
the feet, in walking over it.

The subsoil corresponds, in general, with that of the surrounding
country, but is oftener of sand than clay, and not unfrequently, is of
various thin strata, indicating an alluvial formation. Frogs and snakes
find in these swamps an agreeable residence, and wild beasts a safe
retreat from their common foe. Notoriously, such lands are unhealthful,
producing fevers and agues in their neighborhood, often traceable to
tracts no larger than a very few acres.

In considering how to drain su