alkaline area will not be as concentrated, as that shown in the table 

 above ; on the contrary it will be much better for irrigation purposes. 

 These analyses are typical of what might be. the maximum quantity of 

 harmful salts, and moreover represent a condition which can exist but a 

 few months at the most, when the drains are first installed. 



The reclamation work on the Toft-Hansen tract has progressed so far 

 that the most skeptical must be convinced that drainage and irrigation 

 will reclaim alkali lands. A district of nearly 26,000 acres is now suf- 

 fering more or less from alkali and seepage water, and it rests with the 

 owners of this land to form a drainage district under the act passed by 

 the last legislature of California, approved March 20, 1903. The forma- 

 tion of this district will allow the construction of a drainage system 

 which will result in the reclamation of all lands now alkaline and the 

 prevention of further damage from this source. 



The system recommended, after over three years' study of the condi- 

 tions, consists of tile drains varying in size from 4 inches to 24 inches. 

 The main drain will be an open ditch collecting the water from the 

 parallel tile drains one-half mile apart. This main will deliver the 

 water at the surface of the ground in the district west of Fresno where 

 it can be used for irrigation. The main tile will be laid in approxi- 

 mately straight lines, increasing in size up to 24 inches in diameter. 

 On the fields badly charged by alkali further drainage by 4-inch, 

 5-inch, and 6-inch tile laterals may be necessary, but such fields are 

 comparatively few. The cost of this system, calculated on a basis of 

 20,000 to 26,000 acres, should not exceed $10 per acre. The work of 

 the Bureau of Soils legitimately ends with the demonstration now being 

 completed on the Toft-Hansen tract. The formation of the district and 

 the building of drains and the reclamation of land will rest entirely with 

 the voters and the owners of the land. 



THOMAS H. MEANS, 

 W. H. HEILEMAN. 



Approved : 



JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



WASHINGTON, D. C., September 1, 1903. 



O 



