590 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



" The operation and supervision of the pumping machinery must be given 

 careful attention with a view to securing the greatest economy in operation 

 ami careful preservation through the year. . . . When properly designed and 

 operated, drainage pumping plants prove highly profitable for the reclamation 

 of wet lands in regions where agricultural land is sufficiently valuable." 



The cost of installation of a pumping plant is estimated under average con- 

 ditions as not to exceed $3 per acre, and the cost of maintenance, including 

 interest and depreciation, at 00 cts. ])er acre per annum. 



Report on the Belzoni drainage district in Washington County, Missis- 

 sippi, II. A. Kipp (U. S. Dept. Agi:, Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 2.',Ji, pp. 55, flgs^ 

 6). — This bulletin presents a plan of drainage for a tract of 100,000 acres of 

 wet lowlands in tlie Yazoo Delta, lying in tlie eastern part of Washington 

 County, Miss. It gives the results of an extensive field survey, supplemented 

 by special investigations of run-off and high-water stages in the vicinity of the 

 district. Plans for its improvement, together with a discussion of tlie difflculty 

 of complete reclamation, are given, together with an estimate of the probable 

 cost. 



According to these plans, 90,158 acres in the entire district will be actually 

 benefited at an average cost, exclusive of interior or detailed drainage, of $2.67+ 

 per acre. 



A report upon the Back Swamp and Jacob Swamp drainag'e district, 

 Robeson County, North Carolina, S. H. McCrory and C. W. Mengel ( T'. ,S\ 

 Dcpt. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Bui. 2.'f6, pp. 77, figs. 7).— This bulletin embodie.s 

 the results of an examination made with a view to ascertaining the best methods 

 of reclamation of an area of about 33.000 acres of swamp land in eastern North 

 Carolina. A description of the survey and the method of applying the data 

 obtained therefrom are set forth, together with detailed recommendations for 

 drainage and an estimate in detail of the cost. 



" The poor drainage conditions existing in the territory . . . are due to the 

 failure of the natural watercourses within the district to att'cu'd efficient out- 

 let, these watercourses being usually broad, flat swamps covered with timber 

 and undergrowth, and having in general little or no well-define<^l channel in 

 them. . . . 



" The main feature of the improvements is the construction of efficient 

 ditches in the principal drainage channels within the district. These ditches 

 are designed with sufficient capacity to take care of all the water that they 

 may reasonably be expected to be called upon to handle, and they are of suffi- 

 cient depth to act as outlets for future farm drainage in the district. The 

 ditches are to follow in general the natural ' runs ' of the swamps. . . . 



" The total cost of the recommende<l improvements, which will make available 

 for cultivation all the land within the district, ... is estimated at ,$142,021. 

 This gives a cost per acre of $4. ,34. Since the expenditure recommended may 

 reasonably be expected to more than double the land values of the district, it 

 would seem that the investment should be an attractive one from this standpoint- 

 alone." 



Drainage of the wet lands of Effingham County, Ga.. F. G. Eason (U. S. 

 Dept. Agr., Office Expt. Stas. Circ. 113, pp. 2Jf, figs. 3). — This circular deals with 

 the general drainage conditions of the county and the various elements which 

 enter into the solution of the problem. It is estimated that 12,220 acres will bi^ 

 benefited under the plan proposed, at an average cost per acre of $2.,58. 



Reclamation by drainage, .T. C. Fitterer (Wyoming Sta. Bnl. 90, pp. 3-22, 

 pis. 5. figs. 5). — A drainage system on the station stock farm, installed in co- 

 operation with the Drainage Investigations of this Ofhce, and its action in re- 



