422 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



one well adapted to a regular layout of ditches. Tn this respect it has 

 the adv!iiita<j:e of either of the other two plantations. 



Tho pumpin<; ])lant consists of two Men<;(' ))uin])s with impellers of 

 32 iaciies hy 1 2 inches and 24 inches hy S inches, runninj^, respectively, 

 at 230 and 330 revolutions per minute. I^^acii pump is rope driven 

 by a slide-valve noncondensinj]j engine, while steam is supplied by a 

 100-horsepower return tubular boiler, no feed water heater being used. 



DISTRICT No. 2-940 ACRES. 



Located 5 miles west of the village of Raceland, La Fourche Parish, 

 this plantation is as yet only partly under cultivation and the system 

 of ditches is not complete. On account of a very thick top layer of 

 humus of only partly decayed vegetaticm, good drainage is secured 

 with lateral drains sj)aced several hundred feet apart instead of at 

 distances as shown on the map (fig. 4). 



Two 32-inch by 12-inch Menge pumps are used, one belt-driven, 

 and the other rope-driven by two 12 by 16 slide-valve noncondensing 

 engines. Two 60-horsepower locomotive- type boilers furnish the 

 steam. 



Plate XVI, figure 1, a typical marsh scene, shows the wild grasses 

 common to this section. It is a view of a portion of District No. 2 

 before reclamation. Plate XVI, figure 2, gives a view of the same 

 district after reclamation, showing the levee as constructed and also 

 Bayou False, which serves as an outlet for these lands as well as for 

 the new tract adjoining them, which is described later. 



Plate XVII, figure 1, is an excellent view of a modern Menge pump- 

 ing installation at La Branch, La. It is very similar to that installed 

 for District No. 2 near Raceland. 



NEW ORLEANS LAND COMPANY TRACT— 1,380 ACRES. 



Although inside the city limits of New Orleans, this tract has but 

 recently been inclosed by protection levees. Originally heavily 

 timbered with cypress and gum, there are still many of the small trees 

 standing, and thus far only a few main canals have been dug, as is 

 shown by figure 5. These canals vary in width from 14 to 40 feet, 

 and interior lateral ditches will be constructed later. Drainage is 

 secured by gravity into the city sewer system, and thus this tract 

 differs from the other three in recpiiring no })umping installation. 



DISTRICT No. 3—2,400 ACRES. 



This is a new project lying between Raceland and Lake Fields, in 

 La Fourche Parish, and it embraces the latest practices as to ditch 

 arrangement and modern pumping equipment. The soil is typical 

 turf land and the surface elevation is 3 to 6 feet above mean tide. 



