262 IRRIGATION. 



y the space to be reclaimed must exist within the 

 influence of water which contains much alluvial matter, 

 whether it be situated upon the banks of an inland stream, 

 or of a tidal river or estuary. 



Second, that the spaces to be reclaimed shall be allow- 

 ed to receive the deposit left by the water for as long a 

 period as possible, and the water should not be excluded 

 until, by gradual accretion, the surface of the land has 

 been brought, if possible, to the level of high water of 

 ordinary tides, or above the ordinary level of the stream. 



Third, that careful surveys and observations should be 

 made of the amount and quality of the solid matter 

 brought down by the stream, in order to determine the 

 length of time that will be required to complete the re- 

 clamation ; its cost when complete, and the probable 

 value of the land when it is made and brought under 

 cultivation. 



As an instance of the profitable reclamation of marsh 

 lands, bordering upon rivers, and that are periodically 

 overflowed, the " tule" lands of California may be cited. 

 These lands have been formed by gradual accretions, 

 brought down by the rivers, until they have risen above 

 the level of low water. At seasons of flood, these lands 

 are overflowed. When embanked, drained, and reclaim- 

 ed, these lands bear enormous crops of alfalfa, grass, or 

 wheat. Eight tons of hay, and 40 to 75 bushels of 

 wheat, per acre, have been grown upon these reclaimed 

 lands, and there are none more valuable than these in the 

 whole State. The process of reclamation consists of em- 

 banking, draining, and irrigating, although from the 

 moist, character of these lands, and the great depth of 

 soil, it is only in the more than usually dry seasons that 

 irrigation is found necessary, and then not by any means 

 to so great an extent as is needed by the valley lands. 



