The tract lies in a level district where it was impossible to obtain a 

 gravity outlet for the drainage water, except by digging a drain 2 miles 

 long, so in order to raise the drainage water to the surface of the ground 

 a chain pump operated by a water wheel was installed on Central Canal. 

 where it crosses Fig avenue. A drainage system of this kind is admit- 

 tedly not so desirable as one in which a gravity outlet can be maintained. 



Three-inch, 4-inch, and 6-inch tile were laid over the tract at an 

 average depth of a little over 3 feet and 150 feet apart. The original 

 intention was to use nothing smaller than 4-inch tile, but the makers 

 were unable to supply enough tile of this size, so the deficiency was 

 made up by using 3-inch tile. It was found impossible to lay the tile 

 during the summer season, owing to the nearness of the water table to 

 the surface and the resulting condition of the subsoil, which was too 

 soft to permit the digging of a deep ditch. The work of ditching was 

 commenced in December, 1902, and was completed in February, 1903. 

 The cost of ditching, tiling, and all incidentals except the cost of pump 

 and water wheel amounted to $16.50 per acre. The contract for tin- tile 

 delivered in Fresno was for 3-inch tile, $24 per thousand, for 4-inch tile, 

 $32 per thousand, and for 6-inch tile, $72 per thousand. 



At the time of the installation of the drains 18 acres of the land con- 

 tained too much alkali to produce a crop. Scattered over a part of the 

 tract were small patches of alfalfa and an occasional fruit tree remnants 

 of former cultivation. About the 1st of March, 1903, irrigation was 

 commenced. The land was divided into 30 checks, the size of each 

 check depending upon the slope of the land. The largest checks, those 

 on the level land, are about 2 acres in extent, while on the steeper 

 slopes they are less than half an acre. The object was to divide the 

 land in such a way that it could all be kept under water to a depth <>f 

 4 inches, and the reclamation was to be accomplished by maintaining 

 the water at this depth until enough alkali had been washed out of the 

 soil through the drains to enable a crop to be grown. 



During the progress of flooding many difficulties were met. among 

 them that of keeping the tiles from partially tilling with sand and silt. 

 Precaution was taken in laying the tile to put them in so the joints 

 would be close, hay was thrown over the tile in the ditch before cover- 

 ing with earth, and a ridge of earth was thrown up to prevent the water 

 from standing directly over the drains. In spite of these precautions 

 the soil, which is very light, was so easily moved by water that it 

 seemed to enter the joints almost as readily as did the water. This 

 resulted in some of the drains becoming clogged, and it was nee< 

 to relay a portion of the tile. After the land had been once thoroughly 

 soaked and had settled, no difficulty was experienced from tilling of the 

 drains and it is hoped that there will be no further trouble from this 

 source. Most of the trouble was with the 3-inch tile, which is admit- 



