DANGER IN STANDING WATER 193 



2. It prevents, or at least limits definitely, the shallowing of the soil 

 caused by high-lying ground water, resulting in the need of early and 

 copious fertilization, which would otherwise not have been called for in many 

 years. The annual cost of such fertilization would soon exceed the first cost 

 of drainage. 



3. Drainage does away definitely with the alkali evil. When drainage is 

 established the land can easily be so handled as either to remove all the 

 alkali, or to leave in the soil so much of it as may be rationally considered 

 beneficial, on account of its usual content of valuable and highly available 

 plant food. To prevent the waste of much of this soluble plant food, the use 

 of gypsum is also valuable; but subsequent swamping of the land would 

 cause a return of the black alkali unless drainage were provided for. 



In view of the facts that water-logged lands are still being sold 

 to the unwary for fruit planting; that sometimes lands are offered 

 with the attractive promise of an irrigation supply when they 

 actually need a drainage system; that on such lands every year of 

 large rainfall brings areas of trees into distress and inflicts consider- 

 able losses, these declarations of Professor Hilgard should be most 

 carefully kept in mind. The only item of his declaration which 

 later researches question is the feasibility of "drainage doing away 

 definitely with the alkali question," because difficulties have arisen 

 in the effort to make drainage do it, when the alkali is in its worst 

 form and in very large amount as explained in the publications 

 cited in the footnote on page .... That problem seems to be still 

 pending solution. 



