1182 New Yokk State Agkicultukal Society 



the construction of uiiilerdrains or levees, as well as the con- 

 struction of new ditches for drainage purposes. 



Its advantages are that (1) it uses local machinery and facili- 

 ties; (2) it invokes the nuichinery that is legally estahlished for 

 that purpose; ('>) it provides a legal and constitutional method 

 of taking private property where necessarj'; (4) it ])rovides for 

 ade(piate hearing, appeal and public records; and (.")) it provides 

 an adequate method of linancing the cost of the enterprise. AVhere 

 the imj)rovement is sufficiently large, short-term bonds of the 

 towns or corporate bodies are issued, and as such have the stand- 

 ing and advantage of public loans. We, therefore, have in a sense 

 a public loan for purposes of agricultural drainage. 



There is another route by which such improvement may also 

 be accomplished. This is by petition to the State Conservation 

 Commission established in 1911. (Consol. Laws, Chap. 65, Art. 

 Vlll.) In this case the conservation commission instead of the 

 local courts are made the over-head machinery. Instead of having 

 a local connnission, investigations are made, and any necessary 

 surveys and construction are done by or under the supervision of 

 the engineers of the commission, and at the end they aj)portion 

 the cost against the land benefited in proportion to such benefit. 

 So far as practicable, the same procedure is followed by the con- 

 servation commission as by the court commission. The cost is 

 met by an issue of drainage bonds by the commission which may 

 run for any period up to fifty years. Such bonds are exempt 

 from taxation, and are made legal investment for trust com- 

 panies, savings banks, etc. 



There is no advantage or financial aid conferred by the latter 

 procedure over the former. The conservation commission is 

 likely to take cognizance of only the larger proposition, and in 

 such case may be the preferable agency because of the advantage 

 of its corps of experienced engineers and perhaps the longer period 

 permitted for financing the enterprise, thereby redueitig the an- 

 nual cost. 



Maintenance of drainage ditches. For the repair, clearing or 

 enlargement of any established ditch, the supervisor of each town 

 is constituted the water commissioner to wliom any person lial)le 

 for assessment may a))ply to have the repair made. If, after 

 investigation, the supervisor finds the repair or enlargement neces- 



