710 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Arkansas: Drainage districts No. 2 and No, 3 (Jefferson County), 

 Foiirche drainage district (Pulaski County), Cadron Dam and I^vee 

 district, drainage district No. 8 (Clay County). Illinois: Bay 

 Bottoms drainage district (Pulaski County), Cache River drainage 

 district (Pulaski County). Missouri: St. Francis drainage district 

 (Butler County). New York: Swamp lands in the western part 

 of the State. North Carolina: Little Sugar Creek district (Meck- 

 lenburg County). Texas: Red River bottoms. 



Lectures and addresses were delivered by the chief of drainage 

 investigations and the drainage engineers at the Iowa State College, 

 and at various drainage conventions and meetings of landowners in 

 many States, including Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, 

 North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. 



WORK PLANNED FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1912. 



"Wliile the staff of engineers has been increased as fast as the appro- 

 priation would permit and every effort made to do the greatest good 

 with the money available, the extension of the work has not kept 

 pace with the rapidly increasing interest in the drainage of lands for 

 agriculture. A greater number of preliminary examinations will be 

 made, covering more extensive tracts than many that have been made 

 in previous years, to determine the value of wet and uncultivated 

 areas for producing profitable crops and the practicable methods for 

 draining them. A greater part of the work than heretofore will 

 be assisting the engineers and officials of newly organized drainage 

 districts in securing the best plans for the improvements, by sugges- 

 tions regarding the securing of engineering data and by advice dur- 

 ing the preparation of the plans. 



About 20 field engineers will be assigned headquarters in nearly 

 that number of different States and an office established at each 

 place. This will permit a more systematic study of the special con- 

 ditions of each territory than has been possible in the past. Such 

 problems will be studied as the proper depth and spacing of under- 

 drains in different kinds of soil; the effect of drainage upon the 

 structure of the soils; the fluctuations of stream flow in relation to 

 rainfall, topography, size of watershed, vegetation, and character 

 of soil; also further investigations will be made to determine run- 

 off coefficients, and capacities of natural and artificial water courses. 

 The drainage of irrigated lands injured by seepage water and alkali 

 continues to grow in importance, and the entire time of no less than 7 

 engineers will be devoted to that work in the arid sections of the 

 West. 



WORK PROPOSED FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1913. 



The work of the year 1913 will probably be along the same lines 

 as planned for 1912, save that it should be extended to meet the 

 growing interest in drainage. Accurate knowledge of the problems 

 peculiar to each part of the United States can be obtained only by 

 thorough investigation, and for obtaining the scientific data neces- 

 sary to bring the work of this office to the proper high standard 

 will require continued close study. In the irrigated regions the area 

 needing drainage will continue to increase, and there will be need for 



