The water from these parallel drains will be collected in an open 

 ditch running in a southwesterly direction just west -of West Park. 

 This drainage ditch will have a fall of l to 3 feet per mile throughout 

 its course, dropping where necessary to keep the bottom below the 

 opening of the tile, and will deliver water at the surface of the ground 

 for irrigation south of the Southern Pacific Railroad, between Ormus 

 Station and McMullin. 



Such a system could be built for a total cost not to exceed $10 an 

 aere, based upon a district 25,000 acres in extent. 



A system of this sort will lower the water table to 5 feet and will not 

 allow it to rise above this level for more than a few days at any one 

 time. With water at 5 feet below the surface the spread of alkali 

 will cease and those lands only slightly damaged will be at once easily 

 reclaimed. Those tracts where alkali is now greatly accumulated it is 

 defined best to drain with additional lateral tile laid at from 4 to 4 

 feet below the surface and 150 feet to 300 feet apart. Laid at a 

 depth of 4 feet and 200 feet apart, such drainage will cost about $16 

 per acre. 



Land so tiled, even if badly alkaline, can be returned to profitable 

 cultivation in six months if heavily irrigated, and within one year can 

 be used for the production of any crop suited to the climate. 



An bearing on the cost of tile drainage it may be mentioned that 

 through the efforts of the Bureau of Soils several deposits of good clay 

 have been located within convenient distances of Fresno and that tile- 

 making tests have been carried out. Excellent tile have been made 

 i-from these clays, and it is hoped that when their manufacture has fur- 

 ther developed prices much more in keeping with the cost of production 

 can be obtained on tile, especially when ordered in large quantities. 

 Fuel is cheaper than in the tile-making districts of the east, and the 

 cost of labor is about the same, so there is no reason why tile should 

 not be manufactured and sold at Fresno at very little if any advance, 

 for instance, over the prices asked in Illinois. The foregoing estimates 

 are, however, based upon prices 15 per cent above Illinois prices. We 

 have received assurances from responsible clay workers that if the prices 

 ([noted by local firms are riot consistent with the value of the article, a 

 tile Factory will be built and tile sold at a fair profit. 



The drainage system outlined above can reasonably be expected to 

 llou 30 cubic feet of water per second throughout the irrigating season, 

 wliieh, at the present value of water around Fresno, would be worth 

 $15,000. This water will be brought to the surface of the ground in a 

 district southwest of Fresno which only needs water to render it fertile. 

 There is a great deal of alkali land which could be reclaimed with this 

 water and made to produce valuable crops. The drainage water from 

 the Toft-Hansen tract has been repeatedly analyzed to determine its 



