46 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



tnanv i)laceH tlio acciimiilation of alkali is clestrovin«j: the useful plants. 

 To reiiiovo tho alkali and llie excess water thoronirh drainafre is 

 iieeessarv. (Jeiieral reports of (he eoiiditioiis have been made to the 

 Olliee, ami surveys of some of the tracts most injiiied have been made, 

 from which have been prepared drainajre plans to be submitted to the 

 owners. 



COLLECTION OF DATA ON DRAINAGE. 



C. G. Elliott spent two months invest iijatino" drainaire practice in 

 northern Europe. He visited the fen lands of Enfrhind, examining^ 

 soil conditions, jiumpinf; plants, and the arran<rer.ient of ditches. 

 Data were also gathered relatin<]^ to the depth of water removed, the 

 methods of treatin*;: peaty lands, costs of construction and mainte- 

 nance, and the terms upon which government loans for drainage 

 improvements are made to landowners. Drainage works in northern 

 France were inspected, and interviews were obtained with officials of 

 the boards of agriculture of France and of Belgium. In Holland 

 investigation was made of the drainage of Haarlem Lake and of the 

 cultivation of the lake bed. ^Moorlands and other drained areas were 

 visited in north, west, and south Germany, and in the vicinity of 

 Salsburg, Austria. Although both climatic and industrial conditions 

 in Europe are different from those in the United States, the long 

 experience of these older countries is of nnich value in planning 

 drainage improvements here. 



P^urther investigations have been made of drained peat and turf 

 lands in the upper Mississippi Valley, regarding the methods of 

 drainage employed, the treatment required to fit such lands for culti- 

 vation, and the kind and value of crops obtained. Similar investi- 

 gations have been begun in southern Louisiana by A. ^L Shaw, spe- 

 cial attention to be given to finding the amount of water such soils 

 will absorl). the proper moisture content, and the run-ofT' that must 

 be removed by pumping plants. Observations are also being made 

 of the flow of Avater in drainage ditches. 



Geo. M. "Warren has made investigations of the drained tidal 

 marshes along the Delaware Kiver. Information as to the amount of 

 drainage works constructed and of their efficiency is being compiled. 

 The action of sluice gates has been studied, the treatment and value 

 of the reclaimed lands, and the crops produced. Some very complete 

 records of costs have been secured. 



An examination of drained areas of the Dismal Swamp, in Virginia 

 and North Carolina, was made by H. K. Elliott, who prepared a 

 report showing the extent of the work which has been done by the 

 owners, the results accomplished, and the value of the lands that have 

 been cultivated. 



