METHODS OF DRAINING IRRIGATED LANDS. 491 



It should be observed as a general truth that water which produces 

 permanent saturation rises from the bottom of the saturated portion 

 toward the surface. AVaste from irrigation first passes downward 

 until a hard stratum of earth is reached. This may be only a few 

 feet, in which case the additions which accrue from the irrigation 

 of a few years will bring the permanent ground water level to within 

 2 or 3 feet of the surface, at which time injury to farm crops will 

 ensue. Tlie distance to a horizon of hard material may be much 

 greater and the intervening ground may permit free percolation, in 

 which case a much longer time will be required to fill the soil, be- 

 cause of the larger reservoir capacity and the relief afforded by 

 underdrainage. It is not the downward movement of water alone 

 which occasions boggy or wet areas, but the lateral movement of 

 ground water down a slope until a flat tract or surface depression 

 checks the flow and causes an accumulation of water, which is made 

 known by its appearance, not, however, until the lower parts of the 

 soil have been filled. KSuch depressions or level areas receive the 

 accumulated waste water proceeding from adjoining lands, wdiich 

 occuiw a higher level. It Avill be seen that the saturated condition 

 of the land Avhich shows injury is not due to the water which is 

 applied directly to irrigate it, but to the surplus w^hich percolates 

 from the higher lands, sometimes through considerable distances, 

 until it reaches the lower flat or depression. 



Drainage has been carried on in the West to such an extent that 

 certain methods are now practiced with reasonable assurance of suc- 

 cess. Reference to some of these will indicate the variety of pro- 

 cedure which is now followed, as well as the constructive difficulties 

 which attend this class of improvements. The development along 

 this line which has taken place during the last five years is most 

 encouraging to holders of seeped land. 



METHODS OF DRAINING IN THE BEAR RIVER VALLEY, UTAH. 



The Bear River Valley in Boxelder County, Utah, is well irri- 

 gated and fertile and is occupied by careful farmers Avho grow sugar 

 beets for the large factory located at Garland, as well as grains and 

 alfalfa, all of which are profitable crops. The soil is a dark loam 

 with a subsoil containing more clav than is usuallv found in the arid 

 sections. Since 1906 the rise of soil water in many of the fields has 

 been preceded by the ajDpearance of alkali on the surface, Avhich has 

 killed vegetation. So serious did this condition become that some 

 farmers were considering the abandonment of their lands. The suc- 

 cessful drainage of a 40-acre field under the direction of this depart- 

 ment showed the practicabilit}' of preventing the extension of the 

 evil and of restoring the lands to productivity by draining. The 



