DRAINAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 53 



during which the pumps were operated, with the quantities of water 

 removed, and the rise of the water table in the soil after storms was 

 observed as it was indicated by the elevation of the. w^ater in the 

 ditches. In connection with these investigations data were obtained 

 concerning the tropical storm of September, 1909, particularly the 

 lieight to which the water was raised along the Gulf coast, which 

 seems to be above any high-water records obtained during the last 

 100 yeai-s. The frequency and severity of storms that raise the water 

 level along: the coast above the normal water level will affect mate- 

 rially the drainage of considerable areas in the southern part of this 

 and neighboring States. 



The examinations of drained tidal marshes were continued by 

 George M. Warren. Reports have been prepared on laaids of the 

 Arthur Colburn estate, of the St. Georges Marsh Co., and on the 

 Little St. Georges and St. Augustine marshes, in Newcastle County, 

 Del. ; also on the lands of the Mauricetown Banking Co. and other 

 tidal marshes in Cumberland County, N. J. 



A study of improved methods of excavation, as used in digging the 

 New York Barge Canal, was made by A. E. Morgan. The informa- 

 tion obtained related to the kinds and arrangements of the machin- 

 ery, the class of work to which each kind is adapted, the advantages 

 and limitations of the various types, and the cost of work done by 

 each. This information was obtained by consulting the designers 

 and the operators of the machines, and by a thorough j)ersonal ex- 

 amination of the excavators in operation. 



PRELIMINARY AND RECONNOISSANCE WORK. 



Other than the work included in the projects already enumer- 

 ated, a large number of examinations of a preliminary or reconnois- 

 sance nature have been made. The purpose of these is to offer 

 helpful suggestions to people wishing assistance in undertaking 

 drainage improvements, or to obtain information concerning the 

 status of drainage in various localities. Areas covered by the more 

 important of such investigations are the following: 



Swamp lands along the Cache River, in Illinois; Nahunta and 

 TurnbuU swamps, in North Carolina ; wet and overflowed lands 

 along various streams in Pasquotank, Perquimans, Rockingham, 

 Iredell, Rowan, Robeson, Cabarrus, and Forsyth Counties, N. C. ; 

 overflowed lands on Big Spring Creek, near Huntsville, Ala. ; lands 

 overflowed by the Verdigris and Falls Rivers, Kans. ; overflowed 

 lands on Black Bear Creek, Okla. ; overflowed lands on the Red, 

 Suljohur, Brazos, Elm Fork, and Trinity Rivers, Tex. ; examinations 

 of drainage needs in Bryan, Chatham, Clinch, Echols, Glynn, 

 Lrberty, and Mcintosh Counties, Ga. 



