WOKK OF TRUCKEE-CARSON EXPERIMENT FARM IN 1912, 23 



Much attention has been given to this problem at the experiment 

 farm. Some progress has been made in washing the salts from the 

 surface soil by use of irrigation water after treating the soil with 

 gypsum, but it has been found that before reclamation can be made 

 complete it will be necessary to lower the level of the ground water. 



Weekly determinations of the elevation of the water table were 

 made in 19 test wells on the farm during the vear 1912. The average 

 depth to ground water was 4.43 feet on April 1, 3.79 feet on June 3, 

 and 4.86 feet on December 27. Salt determinations made on the water 

 in these wells on June 9 showed that the average content of sodium 

 chlorid was 0.868 per cent and that of sodium bicarbonate 0.1^4 per 

 cent. The water in only seven of the wells contained sodium car- 

 bonate ("black alkali") on the same date. The average sodium 

 carbonate content of the water in these seven wells was 0.071 per cent. 



It is obvious that successful production of the common field crops 

 will be impossible on this land until the water table is lowered. To 

 attain this end, an electric pumping plant was installed near the south- 

 west corner of the experiment farm in the autumn of 1912 and a tile 

 drainage system was put in at an average depth of 4^ feet. The 

 pumping plant will lift the water collected by this drainage system 

 and discharge it into the surface drain used by the Reclamation 

 Service. It is expected that the use of this system will prevent the 

 rise of the water table each year during the irrigation season and 

 make it possible to continue the work of washing the injurious salts 

 from the surface soil. 



LCir. 121.' J 



