DRAINAGE 149 



seldom a problem, except as a mere adjunct to irrigation 

 on the relatively small areas where water for the irriga- 

 tion can be secured. Most of the denser lower lands 

 require either surface or tile draining in regions of much 

 rainfall, and some of the more dense soils, even on the 

 hillsides, are benefited by removing their excess of water. 

 In England, where the rainfall is heavy and the proximity 

 to the ocean keeps the air moist, thereby decreasing 

 evaporation, a large portion of the land may be drained 

 with profit. There, even the hillsides, if the soil is at 

 all close in texture, will produce better crops if well tile 

 drained. In countries, such as portions of Italy, where 

 the rainfall is three or four times as much as in the 

 Mississippi valley, the drainage must be very complete. 

 The land is ridged so as to carry off as much of the 

 water over the surface as is practicable, and tile drains 

 are used to remove the surplus water from the subsoil, 

 even in soils not very dense. 



The benefits of drainage are apparent in many ways. 

 The individual farmer is greatly benefited, and the neigh- 

 borhood is often made more healthful ; and with the 

 better profits in farming the entire community and the 

 state are built up. Elliot, in his book " Engineering for 

 Land Drainage," says that in one Indiana township 

 especially needing drainage, averaging for five years 

 before drainage and five years after drainage, the yield 

 of wheat was increased from 9^ to 19^ bushels per 

 acre, the yield of corn from 31*4 to 74^4, and that the 

 physicians' books showed 1480 calls to visit malarial 

 patients for the five years before, and only 490 cases for 

 the five years following drainage. Thus the yields of 

 crops were doubled and the malarial cases were divided 

 by three. Many individual farms are changed from 

 malarial to healthful homes by draining out swampy 

 areas. The development of our country means a 

 healthier as well as a richer people. 



