Reclamation of Land

RECLAMATION OF LAND. The history of the reclamation of swamps and marsh lands, more especially by shutting out the water of floods, is as old as civilization itself. Its con densed history is given both as showingits antiq uity and the importance always attached to such reclamation, from the great fertility of such soils. The periodical overflow of the Nile to uncertain limits necessitated the controlling of the waters within defined boundaries, and this control was most undoubtedly exercised by means of embank ments. The Plicenicians—the people of Tyre and the ancient sea-ports of the East, the Greeks and the Romans, erected extensive works on their sea-coasts to protect their cities and ships from oc. an storms and foreign enemies, and no doubt they enclosed low-lying lands in many instances for the purpose. The Romans, during their occupation of Britain, raised immense lines of embankments at several points along the coast, the remains of which are still in existence. In fact, all nations, as they advanced in civiliza tion seem to have recognized in reclamation a means of extending the area of land to he distri buted among the people without necessitating an emigration of surplus inhabitants. This has been the case in India and China, where the dense population manages to accoinmodate itself to the limits of those countries, and it is only within the last few years that we have seen any signs of a movement by these people to other countries. The original settlers of the Netherlands were the descendants of those wan dering tribes whose emergence from their homes in the North heralded the downfall of the Roman empire, and laid the foundation of the nation alities which at present ehecker ihe map of Europe. The first steps toward erecting barriers against the tidal overflow in Holland are stated to have been taken in or abont the second cen tury of the Christian era. It is probable that vanguards of the great army of invasion which in later times overran Europe from the north had begun to move forward and occupy in small bodies the country lying along the northern coast. As the population increased, and the groups of mild huts grew into large towns and cities, the necessity for placing under cultivation more extensive areas of land became imperative. The more valuable these settlements grew to the people, the more desirous were they to guard them against destruction hy the sea, and the attention of the government and people was directed to the general and permanent embank ing of the whole coast. How they have suc ceeded we all know. The country which was once a desolate marsh is now a garden. Visitors passing through it acknowledge that in no part of the world is scientific agriculture better understood or applied, although the fields and dwellings are in many places twenty feet below the level of the sea. It wa.s not alone necessary to embank against the sea, but also against the waters of some of the great rivers whose sources are to be found in the very heart of Europe, and which would overflow all the low lands they traverse had not the precaution of confining them to their natural channels been taken by the Hollanders. Many works have been written which give detailed descriptions of the manner in which the diking of the Netherlands was carried on. The foundation of the work was laid by nature. The superstructure was the work of rnan. Along the coast exposed to the great ocean storms a bank of sand was washed up by the action of the waves, and a natural harrier was erected against the incursion of the tidal waves. A belt of wood which grew along the coast, and against which the sand was heaped. assisted the early toilers in their labors by afford ing both shelter and material. This wood has since disappeared to a great extent in the con stant repairs rendered necessary by the action of the waves in stormy weather. Beyond strength ening and connecting these mounds or banks of sand, and securing the lands in the immediate neighborhood of the ocean from tidal overflow, little was done in the beginning on the main embankment along the coast, vvhile the river banks were left wholly exposed. The great work once initiated, however, it has progressed steadily to the present day, and we find that after a strug gle lasting many centuries, the energy and per severance of man have wrested a kingdom from the sea. Writers on the subject of the early condition of Holland tell us that the country was covered with lakes, varying in size, which have been drained and converted into fruitful farms. The most important operation lately and successfully completed is the draining of the Harlem lake, which covered an area of about 45,000 acres. A description of this work was given in the report of the Department of Agri culture for 1866. Extensive tracts on the west ern coast of England, called the Fen country, have been embanked and drained, and added to the cultivable land in that section. As many as 680,000 acres of fen have been reclaimed, and the works rival those of Holland in extent. The Encyclopeedia Britanniea says: This fen country has for centuries been the scene of drainage operations on a stupendous scale. The whole surface of the great basin of the fens is lower than the sea, the level varying from four to six teen feet below high-water mark in the German Ocean. The difficulty in draining this fiat tract is increased from the circumstance that the ground is highest near the shore and falls inward toward the foot of the slope. These inland and lower grounds consist of a spongy peat, which has a natural tendency to retain water. The rivers and streams which flow from the higher inlands discharge upon these level grounds, and originally- found their way into the broad and shallow estuary of the wash, ohstructed in all directions by bars and sand-banks. These upland waters, being now caught at their point of entrance on the fens are confined within strong artificial banks, and so guided straight seaward, and are thus restrained from flooding the low grounds, and by their concentration and momen tum assist in scouring out the silt from the narrow channel to which they are confined. The tidal waters are at the same time fenced out by sea hanks, which are provided at certain intervals with sluice-doors by which the waters escape at ebh tide. When this does not provide such a drainage as to admit of cultivation, the water is lifted mechanically by wind or steani mills into the main aqueducts. In the district called Marsh, in Norfolk. extending between the Ouse and the New, in that called South Holland, in Lincoln shire, stretching between the New and Welland, northward of Spalding, and also northeast of Boston, there are considerable tracts of marine clay soil. In Marshland this is chiefly arable land, producing large crops of wheat and beans; hut in Lincolnshire forms exceedingly fine grazing land. This tract lies within the old Roman embankment, by which the district was first defended from the ocean. Outside this barrier are the proper manh lands, which have been I eclaimed in portions at successive periods, and :ire still intersected in all directions by ranges oi banks. The extraordinary feature in this tract is that the surface outside the Roman bank is three or four feet higher than on the inside, and the level of each new inclosure is more elevated than the previous one. The land rises step by step as the coast is approached, so that the most recently reclaimed land is often twelve and some times eighteen feet higher than the lowest fen land in the i nterior, the drainage from which must, nevertheless, be conveyed through these more elevated marshes to the sca. These extensive works are represented by many hundreds of miles of river embankments, and the sea-coast line ernbanked exceeds one hundred and thirty in length. This fen land, once, like that of Hol land, a wild, marshy tract, impassable to man or beast, is now a fertile farm, rich in agricultural products, and inhabited by a healthy and wealthy' population. Another instance of successful reclamation is to be found in England; the Bed ford level, called after the Earl of Bedford, who in the year 1634 expended over £100,000 to reclaim these lands, and whose son completed the work at an additional cost of £300,000. These lands have since that time been kept perfectly free of water by means of windmills and other pumping engines. Extensive drainage opera tions have been carried on in many parts of Europe, particularly in France and Italy. The celebrated Pontine marshes, near Rome, are mentioned by early historians as a source of great danger to the public health, and several unsuc cessful attempts were made to reclaim them. The popes at different periods renewed these efforts, and their success, though partial, proved that the drainage could be effected with sufficient capital. In Ireland, immense tracts of peat-bog have been drained and converted into arable land. The bog of Allen is an extensive area of peaty soil, extending into several counties, and covering many thousand acres. In the southern part of Ireland, along the rivers and shores of the main estuaries. large areas of alluvial deposits have been inclosed by embankments, and a. rich soil made available for cultivation. The cotton lands in the valley of the Mississippi are exceed ingly fertile when properly protected by levees from the periodical overflow of the river. The construction and maintenance of these levees are often the subject of discussion in Cong,ress, and it would seem proper tbat the nation's represen tatives should interest themselves in what forms so important a protection to tbe agricultural interests of several of the States of the Union. In Canada the question of reclaiming the marsh lands is receiving considerable attention from both the government and the people. Extensive works are about to be commenced, with a view to these reclamations; and vast areas of fertile soil will be added to the lands of the New Do minion. In the United States the question of utilizing marshes has not attained the importance it deserves. In the neighborhood of New York, a considerable tract of land, known as the New ark Meadows, lying between the Newark and Paterson range of hills, on the west side, and the Palisade ridge of Bergen hill on the east side, has been embanked and otherwise drained and reclaimed within the past fifteen years. Mr. Jerome J. Collins, a civil engineer of New Jersey, wbo has had large experience in reclabn ing the tide water lands between New York, Newark, and Hackensack, originally unproduc tive salt marshes, but now most valuable and high priced gardening soil, gives the general principles of reclamation as follows: In effect ing the reclamation of a tract of marsh land, three distinct objects must be attained before the work can be considered complete. First, the exclusion of all waters, having tbeir sources of supply or operating from the outside of the limits of the marsh land reclaimed. Second, the collection and expulsion, by means of drains, ditches, sluices, and pumps, of all waters lodged on the marsh or having their sources inside its limits. Third, the control of all waters that may afterward acccumulate on the rnarsh from springs, rains or other causes, so that the danger of drowning the land may be avoided and the cultivation of the soil be uninterrupted. Each of these conditions must exist to insure the harmonious working of the other two; the absence of one is fatal to the usefulness of the others. In case of the first condition, when we undertake to exclude waters having their sources outside the limits of the marsh to be reclaimed, it is necessary to erect a dike; but the shape, size, and mode of construction will be governed by the locality, material, and the amount of resistance the dike must offer to the return of the excluded water. The collection and expulsion of waters accumulated on the marsh from rains, or the interception of that deriving its source from springs within the marsh limits, will depend considerably on area, location, and out fall, as well as on the power and capacity of pumps and other water-engines. The control of the water in the soil and its removal for agricul tural purposes will depend on the excellence and completeness of the other works, but will also be affected by climate and the character and treatment of the crops raised. The location of the marsh with respect to high lands is of the utmost importance, ;1,,. when adjoining upland, it receives the rainfall of the hills in addition to its own, and unless precautions are taken to control this irregular addition to its own waters, so that the land shall not suffer from it, the third condition for a complete reclamation can not be said to be complied with. Embankments are necessary for the exclusion of water from an area where the source of that water is above the level of the surface to be kept dry. For instance, the embankment of a reserv.oir must of necessity be above the level of the river, spring, or other reservoir from which the first receives its supply, unless, indeed, the discharge from the latter be equal to that which it uniformly receives, and its embankments lose their retain ing character, and become simple diverters of the stream. In like manner, any space enclosed by an embankment for the purpose of excluding water must have that embankment higher than the highest level of the encroaching water, if an inland stream, or the highest known range of the tide, if on a tidal river bank, or the sea-coast, unless, in the case of the inland stream, the water becomes simply guided in its course, and not confined. As our principal marshes requir ing embankments are located along the shores of the large bays and inlets, or on the banks of tidal streams, remarks will be confined to such marshes and their requirements. In erecting a dike to resist the pressure of the tide, the shape, the size, and the mode of construction of the dike must vary with the location and the range of the tide. Location affects it because the bank may at one point be sheltered from the eroding action of the wa,ves, while at another point it may be exposed to their full force. It is there fore evident that some dissimilarity must exist between the work to be done by the two sections of the bank, and a consequent difference becomes necessary in their shape, strength, and mode of construction. Many plans have been projected for the erection of dikes, sea-walls, and embank ments, each possessing some peculiar merit, while failing to fulfill equally important require meuts. No particular form of dike can be recommended for all cases, as the necessity of each case demands special treatment. The Dutch engineers favor long slopes for sea-banks, constructed of sand or other light material, but the length of the exterior slope can be safely diminished, where a durable material, like stone, can be procured, with the additional security of piles and other protection ; it is also certain that where the material is not adhesive and durable, long slopes, especially facing the waves, are advantageous when not exposed to the face of the ocean waves, as on the coast of Holland. A base of about five to one, divided between the internal and external slopes, in addition to the width of the bank on top, would afford ample base for an embankment. Thus, if we require an embankment six feet high to resist the ;encroachment of the tide, we can not with abso lute safety construct it with a base of less than thirty-live feet to resist effectually the wash of the waves. This width of base would admit of, in the first place, a width on the top of the embank ment of tive feet and external slope of three feet and a half to one, and an internal slope of one and a half to one. The bank with a thirty-five foot base is suited to exposed situations, where wind and wave act directly but moderately. Where the bank is subject to a heavy blow from the waves, the slope will be so graduated as to receive and gradually deaden the effort of the wave as it traverses its surface. The shape of the bank is of as much importance as its con struction and dimensions, because, if by unsuit able proportions we subject the very best mate rial and workmanship to extreme and unneces sary strains, it can not be expected that the work of resistance will be performed as effectually as if due consideration were given to the relations which should always exist between the shape, material, and amount of resistance the bank is expected to offer to the water. Durable mate rial is not always to be had where wanted for embankments, but in the case of salt marshes, with very few exceptions the soil excavated forms a superior material for their construction. This is generally the case along the shores of large rivers and estuaries, where the silt from the river is continually being washed against the bank, and during high tides carried over and deposited on the surface of the marsh along the river-banks, forming a compact soil, which, when used, in the construction of a bank and dried, becomes hard, durable, and water-tight—the three most important requirements for an embankment. The fitness of these marsh soils for embankments has been tested, and where used not the least trouble has been experienced with them either by a set tlement or breach, but the shape of the bank has been preserved unchanged after severe winters and heavy rain storms. When banks are erected to exclude water, they must be made perfectly impermeable to that element. The least leakage is but the forerunner of a burst, unless quickly attended to. These leaks are frequently caused by the imperfect construction of the bank itself, -where the material is not packed close, or some of the joints between the sods of soil have not been thoroughly closed by the workmen. Another cause may be the shrinkage of the material when drying in tbe bank, joints that were close while the moisture swelled the rnaterial of the bank being opened by the shrinkage of the soil, and admitting tiny streams, which soon become seri ous leaks, and finally the cause of the destruc tion of the bank. Of the two causes. either may be guarded against by proper care in construct ing, the bank. There is still another cause of leakage and the failure of a bank—the penetra tion of the bank by muskrats and other boring ani.nals. whose attacks must be steadily resisted by constant vigilance and the adoption of some plan of construction which will defeat their operations. Several attempts which have been made at reclamation in this country owe their failure to the muskrats. These animals are not to be despised as enemies to marsh reclamation. As workers they are unrivaled in perseverance, for they will return again and again to the attack on the same point of an embankment, until they succeed in boring it to their satisfaction, or are killed by a lucky shot. On the Newark mea dows, New Jersey, they were defeated effectually by means of the iron plate inserted in the embank ment, and covering the space between the range of high and low water. The rats penetrated the

bank in many places, but were stopped by the plate, and they either gave up their excavation or cut their way over the plate at a level above that of high water, and the consequent injury to the bank was slight and easily repaired. A core composed of a less expensive material than iron would answer the same purposes, and a well constructed dike core of wood, hemlock for instance, will probably be found fully equal to all requirements. There are conditions. how ever, tinder which the iron core might be prefer able. To accomplish the second important con dition, the collection and removal of all waters lying stagnant or otherwise, and having their source of supply within the limits of the marsh, a series of main and intermediate ditches or drains must be cut through the marsh, for the collection and conveyance of these waters to points on the line of the main embankments, from which it can be forced or drained out. In the case of tide marshes, where the range of the tide brings the low-water level sufficiently below that of the marsh surface to admit of the drainage of the soil to a proper depth, and a fair outfall for the water collected in the ditches, a number of well-placed and properly-constructed sluice-gates will assist considerably in draining the land, as the volume of water drained into the river or bay will be in proportion to the fall and capacity of the sluice to discharge it. Although many advantages are derived front the use of sluices on marsh lands, they are not to be com pared in efficiency with a well-constructed pump, worked by steam-power. No matter how well constructed a sluice may be, or of what material, there is always a weakness about it and a liabil ity to accident that must impress itself upon the observer. The connection made between the embankment and the wood-work or masonry of a sluice is, in nine cases out of ten, the site of numerous leaks, which are continuously enlarg ing and are the more dangerous on account of their apparently trifling character. The material of a sluice may be iron; it corrodes and gets easily clogged by slight obstructions, such as small branches of trees or tufts of grass. If made of wood, it is liable to rot away under water, and be unexpectedly destroyed by a violent storm or other cause. The stone-work settings of a sluice, on account of the alternate -wetting and drying process that goes on, par ticularly during the winter frosts, will work out all the mortar or cement frorn the joints, and the whole sluice is liable to be undermined by the action of the current passing through the sluice twice in every twenty-four hours. If the sluice is self-acting, it is a source of danger, as it is liable to be obstructed by floating wood, grass, -weeds. etc., and is certain to be frozen up in winter thne, and in case it should he so pre vented from working properly, the sluice being set to low water, the obstruction to the free flow of the water or to the closing or the gate against the rising tide will not be discovered until, in the latter case, the tide begins to flow in through the sluice, when the obstruction is placed out of reach. In this way considerable damage may be done to young crops by an over flow of salt or brackish water.• If the sluice is worked by hand, it is equally dangerous, as neglect will result in a general overflow of the reclaimed land and a probable destruction of valuable property. The best provision that can be made against an overflow from a neglected or defective sluice-gate is the use of pumps exclu sively for the drainage of tidal marshes. A con siderable saving is also effected by using a purnp, as fuel can be economically used and only when required, while the cost of pumping from one station will be much less than sluicing from a dozen points, when a larger staff of workmen is required. The general plan of the ditches and drains is regulated as much by the location of the outfall as by the actual wants of the land. The object being to remove the water as quickly as possible from the place where it accumulates, and by that means to save every inch of the fall, the ditches should be laid out with that object, and every part of the tract to be drained should be connected with the outfall as directly as pos sible. It is also desirable to keep a current flow ing through the ditches to the outfall as uni formly constant as possible, so that no deposit can occur in the drain to obstruct the passage of the water. This uniformity of motion and direc tion can not be obtained by the use of sluices, or rather can be obtained by no other means than by pumping-power, which has no cause for stop page by reason of the ebb and flow of a tide, the effect of prevailing winds, or any other obstacle to the free and constant flow of water through a sluice-way. By the use of pumps a uniform and unbroken line of embankment is presented to the outside water, having no weak places to -cause a fear for its stability, no wood-work to rot .away, iron-work to corrode, or masonry to be destroyed. Complete control is obtained over all accumulations of water that may occur after rain storms; a deeper drainage of the land is pos sible, as the level of low water outside does not affect the operation ; and in the case of heavy rains due preparation can be made by the engi neer to deal with the water, for when the barome ter indicates a change of weather or the approach -of a storm he can pump his ditches dry if neces sary, and keep the water very low during the heaviest rains; on the other hand, the pump need not be worked more than one day in the week during dry weather. When certain condi tions favor the adoption of the sluice in prefer ence to the pump, it is wise to adopt that system; there are some cases where no choice can be exercised. Where springs are found on these marshes, either isolated or in groups, it is proper to connect them with a main drain through a lateral ditch; and when found in groups to sur round them with a ditch by which their waters. may be removed as fast as discharged, and not permitted to saturate the soil for any distance around. The removal of water from the soil for agricultural purposes is the last and most impor tant condition to be fulfilled in the work of recla mation. The fitting of soil such as is found on our marsh lands for the reception of suitable crops calls for the exercise of considerable skill on the part of the agriculturist. He finds a vir gin soil in the formation of which almost every fertilizing element is employed. His experience of upland farming may be very extensive; but here lie has land that requires peculiar treatment, but no manure, no invigoration, to call forth its productiveness; in fact, nothing except the ditching tool and the plow, and the farmer's personal care and management, is required to achieve success equal to the highest expectations. An excess of moisture in a soil hurts vegetation by keeping the temperature of the subsoil low, and weakening the effect on the plants of the various chemical constituents that assist in the development and support of vegetable life. The remedy for this evil must necessarily be drainage. The absence of a proper moisture is equally damaging to vegetation, as many of these chem ical constituents of soils are brought into active operation by the water in the soil and the vitality of the plant ig thereby sustained. Water is the principal constituent of the sap of plants, and its absence in proper quantity must cause an exhaustion to the vegetable similar to that pro duced in the animal life by loss of blood. The want of natural moisture is usually supplied artificially by what is known as irrigation. We must seek a mean between the two conditions of excess and total absence of moisture, in order to arrive at that in which a soil is hest fitted for the production of a healthy vegetation. Some soils, owing to their formation, will retain moisture more readily than others, and, therefore, require a different style of cultivation. Sandy soils are dry and represent the opposite extreme to the marsh in point of humidity. This is due to the composition of the soil. Sand, being purely granicular, permits water to pass easily through it until it sinks to the level of some denser sub stratum. Marsh soil, especially alluvial or vege table deposit, is absorbent ; its particles are so minute as to form a closer and more compact combination not easily penetrated by any foreign matter moved by the force of gravity alone, insoluble, and possessing in a high degree the property of inducing capillary attraction. Noth ing but deep incisions into the surface of this soil creates that positive disconnection of the mass which is necessary for the liberation of the water held in the soil by the sponge-like sub stance which enters so largely into its compo sition. The low situation of marshes and hogs is not a reason for the presence in excess of moisture in their soils. In many instances these bogs are found on high lands or the tops of high mountains. Tracts of peat bog in various parts of Ireland and England, where the surface is soft and shaking, are as high as eight feet above the level of the adjoining dry and arable land, and the water of these bogs rarely interferes with the dry land in the immediate vicinity, as it is held by the soil of the peat bog by capillary attraction stronger than gravity itself, which lat ter force asserts itself wherever the particles of soil are incapable of losing their identity by being blended in a general mass. The action of this capillary force on the water in the subsoil and the result in favor of vegetation has already been stated in this article and needs no further explanation. When an outfall is secured, and a regular system of main drains established, the freeing of the excess of moisture for the purposes of cultivation is accomplished by the smaller drains, which intersect the areas not immedi ately affected by the main drains. The size and capacity of these sub-drains will of course be suited to the area affected and the degree of humidity of the soil. In some parts of the same marsh tract the soil differs so considerably in its nature as to necessitate a variation in the plan of drainage. The proximity of high lands, woods, springs, or other causes of excessive moisture in the soil, must be taken into conside ration and provision be made accordingly, but the general principles by which the detail drain age of the land is affected must be observed. A general inclination or fall of all minor drains to a main drain is as necessary as the fall of the main drain to the outlet, sluice-way, or pumping station. Where tile drains are laid, a fall of one foot in two hundred is sufficient to carry off the water, but as there are many cases in which drain pipes can not be employed, it is desirable that, while affecting as much ground as possible by a drain, every advantage should be taken of a good fall on the line of each drain, whether a main or an intermediate drain. Various plans for intermediate drains have been suggested and adopted from time to time. Among them may be mentioned one that is formed by a simple trench, cut with a shoulder to support a cover ing sod, laid grass down, and covered to the surface with the excavated soil. This drain does not last long, but is an economical form. Another kind of drain is made by leaning the flat tiles bridgewise against one another on top, the apex of the triangle so formed being cov ered with a thick sod, and the remaining part of the trench filled with broken stone and excavated soil. The tile-and-shoe drain has been used extensively in many parts of England. It is a horse-shoe tile, resting on a flat tile, thereby forniing a kind of arched drain, from one to four inches in diameter. Tbis style of drain is not now used so much as the simple circular drain pipes, with collared joints, where such a precaution is necessary to preserve the efficiency of the drain. These drain pipes are of burnt clay, about fourteen inches in length and from one to fourteen inches in diameter. In very humid soils it is necessary to provide a sufficient number of drains to carry off the water after heavy rains as fast as it soaks into the ground. Experiments will soon establish the proper positions and distances apart for these drains. As it is necessary to the productiveness of a soil that the warm rainwater should penetrate below the line of vegetation, the drains should be laid at such a depth as to be clear of the plow and spade, and the frost and the tap roots of larger plants. As soils are very- rarely broken below eighteen inches from the surface, and roots are known to reach down as far as the soil is rich, while the frost penetrates to an average depth of three feet, it would be safe in districts affected by frost to lay drains four feet under the surface, and in warmer cli mates at a depth of one foot below the line of cultivation. With a suitable connection between the main and the drains, no soil, no matter how wet it may be, can fail to be reduced to a condition fit for cultivation. As localities differ widely in their physical features, and various circumstances compel special treatment in almost every case, it is not practicable to designate, beyond the general principles that should govern the construction and arrangement of reclamation works, any form of embankment, drain, sluice, or pump to be adhered to under all circumstances. Locality, prevailing winds, cli mate, range of tide, strength and velocity of local currents, the nature of the soil and vegeta tion, all combine to alter the character of the works, and a common standard would he impos sible. It may be said of all these that locality is the one on which all the others depend for their importance. We find as we traverse the Atlantic coast of this continent a great many varieties of soil in the marshes. This is owing to the differ ent kinds of vegetation produced on these marshes, or which composed their soil originally, and the rapidity of decomposition of this vege table material in the soil. With locality, climate varies considerably, and climate regulates the character and growth of plants, their develop ment, their time of maturity and of decay. A natural result of all this influence must be that in localities possessing warm climates the vege tation is more varied, more luxuriant, and con sequently enters more largely into the composi tion of the soil than in places where the climate is less favorable for the development of vegeta tion. The rapid growth and quick succession of crops must tend to a large annual deposit of vegetable matter on the surface, which, before it becomes thoroughly decayed, is itself a soil, from which other plants spring, and the deposit. becoming in this way more rapid than the decay which should convert it into vegetable mold, a soil is formed many degrees less dense in its structure than that of a place where the climate is colder and the growth of vegetation is slower and less luxuriant. It has been remarked that spongy, vegetable soils will retain water, when sandy and porous soils will not, and the work of drainage will be increased in proportion to. the quantity of vegetable matter found in the soil. It also occurs that this rapidly formed soil is less fitted for the construction of water tight embankments than that of a more gradual deposit, on account of its being more permeable to water, and it is often found necessary, there fore, to reject the soil we proposc to reclaim, as a material for the embankment, and use that from another place. While locality and cli mate materially affect the manner of reclama tion, prevailing winds also exercise an influence by their action on the tidal wave. In exposed situations, the winds exercise this influence to. such a degree as to necessitate a complete change in the plan of reclamation, especially on the tidal marshes along the coast Snd the shores of our rivers. According to the course of the river, against the overflow of which embank ments are erected; as well as the direction of the opening by which the waters reach the sea, the wind at certain seasons, causes a raising ot the tide wave above its ordinary level, and of course necessitates higher and stronger embankments to resist it. Reference is not made to the semi monthly occurrence of spring tides, but to the powerful effect of strong winds on the surface of water, forcing it in the direction in which it blows. When a strong wind and a spring tide occur at the same time, the tide will be raised over the level of spring tide in proportion to the strength of the wind; and when both meet a heavy freshet after a rain storm, the increased volume of the stream is not unlikely to overflow the banks, and inundate the surrounding coun try for many miles, doing much damage to property, and sometimes causing loss of life. In level countries the wind blows in a downward direction at an angle of something over 18° with the horizon. The pressure of the wind is in proportion to its velocity—the former increases as the square of the latter. The following table of velocities and pressures of the wind is taken from Burnell's Hydraulic Engineering: An instance of the effect of strong wind on water is mentioned by Franklin. A pond, nine miles wide, and of an average depth of three feet, was acted on by a strong wind, which forced tbe water from one side so that it was laid bare, and the depth of water on the other side was increased to six feet. Next to the influ ence of winds and waves on reclamation works, is the action of currents. Where the shore is concave, it would be imprudent to erect embankments close to the water-line, unless some protection in the shape of masonry or pil ing be placed against the wearing action of the current; while, on the other hand, when the shore is convex, the ernbankment naay be placed even at the water's edge, as the fore-shore will continue to gain in the latter case as it loses in the former. In like manner, on sea-coast embankments, where the bank is likely to be washed by any of the numerous currents cre ated by the movement of the tides, the greatest caution should be exercised in protecting the works from injury, and the exterior slopes should be strengthened in the best manner to resist the action of the water. To preserve the embankment against the damaging effects of frost, it is well to cover the face of thc exte rior and interior slopes with thick sods, by which a protection is afforded to the bank by the cover ing of grass, and the frost is not permitted to penetrate so deep into the soil composing it. In California it is estimated that there are 3,000,000 acres of swamp lands, which when drained will be the most valuable in the State.