DRAINAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 45 



that kind. The assistance given to farmers in the far West by the 

 office inchicles examinations and surveys of seeped hinds made upon 

 the request of the owners, and sometimes the supervision of the con- 

 struction of the drains, as well as their design, in order that the 

 methods of draining such land may be demonstrated for the benefit 

 of localities where similar conditions j^revail. 



The technical data which the office endeavors to secure include 

 measurements of run-off from drained areas and representative water- 

 sheds, measurements of the discharge from artificial drainage chan- 

 nels, the efficiency of drains in different soils, methods of regidating 

 the moisture of peat and muck soils, a study of machinery which is 

 adapted to the construction of levees and ditches of different kinds, 

 and investigations of pumping plants for drainage purposes. 



The assistance rendered in the inauguration of drainage works in- 

 cludes preliminaiy field examinations followed by oral or written 

 reports to the people who are concerned in each project; surveys, upon 

 request, of representative areas, and the preparation of working 

 plans Avhich are presented in a report accompanied by maps and 

 other necessary drawings, together with estimates of cost; and con- 

 sultation with engineers and commissioners of drainage districts 

 regarding the effectiveness of drainage plans which are not prepared 

 by the office. Where surveys are made, district authorities or local 

 landowners sometimes pay a share of the cost. This enables the 

 office to extend assistance to a larger number of fields than it other- 

 wise would be able to do. 



The work is being done under the immediate direction of C. G. 

 Elliott, chief of drainage investigations, and may be classified and 

 described under the following headings : 



(1) Improvement of farm lands now under cultivation. 



(2) Drainage of swamp lands. 



(3) Reclamation of land subject to frequent overflows from 

 streams. 



(4) Drainage of irrigated lands. 



(5) Collection of general and technical data on drainage. 



(6) Preliminary and reconnoissance work. 



(7) Dissemination of information. 



IMPBOVEMENT OF FARM LANDS. 



A survey was made of the Ivedclen farms, comprising 740 acres, near 

 Redden, Del., by L. L. Hidinger. Plans were prepared for a system 

 of tile drains and open ditches for a part, including the improvement 

 of the Mifflin Ditch, which is the outlet for the drainage of the larger 

 part of the farm. 



A survey was made, by J. R. Haswell, of the farm of William R. 

 Marrs, near Hebbardsville, Ky., which contains about 300 acres, 



