334 MOSQUITOES or north AMERICA 



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' To ascertain why these lands have been allowed to remain so long in their 

 present state we must look to some cause other than their lack of fertility, as 

 this has been fully established by chemical analyses of the soil and by hundreds 

 of productive farms that have been made from such lands. 



" ' In the early settlement of our country the farms were located on what were 

 considered the most desirable tracts, determined by accessibility, natural water 

 supply, and the fertility of the soil. As civilization extended westward the home 

 seeker selected the rolling prairie that needed little or no drainage, so that the 

 swamps and overflowed lands were passed by, and only recently has an imperative 

 demand arisen for their reclamation. The desirable farming land is practically 

 all occupied or held for speculation, and to meet the needs of our steadily in- 

 creasing population it is necessary for this swamp land to be drained and put 

 to proper use. Its nearness to market and its great fertility make it very de- 

 sirable for small farms. 



" ' Can these lands be drained, what will it cost, and how can the work best be 

 done are questions of vital interest to the American people. After considering 

 what has been done to reclaim the marshes of Holland, two-fifths of which lie 

 below the level of the sea, and the difficulties that have been overcome in draining 

 the fens of England, it would be a reflection on the skill and intelligence of the 

 American engineer to proclaim the drainage of our swamp lands impossible. 

 On the contrary, the engineering problems are simple, as most of these lands 

 are several feet above sea level and have natural creeks or bayous that need only 

 to be improved by straightening, widening, and deepening to afford outlets for 

 complete drainage. In case of some of the river bottoms and the salt marsh 

 along the coast it is necessary to build levees to prevent overflow and to construct 

 internal systems of drainage with sluice gates or pumps to discharge the water 

 from within, and by the use of modern machinery this work is neither difficult 

 nor expensive. Levees can be built and ditches excavated with suitable dredges 

 at a cost ranging from 7 to 16 cents per cubic yard. Large works in swamps 

 where the land is overflowed are readily and cheaply constructed in this manner. 



" 'As to the cost of draining these lands, and whether or not it will pay, we 

 have but to refer to the numerous works of this kind that have been completed. 

 In those States where large areas of swamp land have been thoroughly drained 

 by open ditches and tile drains the cost ranges from $6 to $20 per acre, while 

 in places where tile drainage was not required the average cost has not exceeded 

 $4 per acre. Judging from the prices which prevail in a large number of 

 these districts where work of this kind is being carried on, it is safe to estimate 

 that the 77,000,000 acres of swamp can be thoroughly drained and made fit for 

 cultivation at an average cost of $15 per acre. The market value of these lands 

 in their present shape ranges from $2 to $20 per acre, depending upon the 

 location and prospect of immediate drainage, with an average of probably $8 

 per acre. Similar lands in different sections of the country that have been 

 drained sell readily at $60 to $100 per acre at the completion of the work, and in 

 many instances, when situated near large cities, they have sold as high as $400 

 per acre. To determine whether or not it will pay to drain these lands we have 

 but to consider the following figures : 



Cash value of 77,000,000 acres after thorough drain- 

 age at $60 per acre $4,620,000,000 



Present value of this land at $8 per acre.$ 616,000,000 

 Cost of drainage at $15 per acre 1,155,000,000 



Value of land and cost of draining 1,771,000,000 



Net increase in value $2,849,000,000 



