114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



form a great many drainage districts, and where there is no 

 population to use the land it has not advanced in value. But 

 where there is a population to utilize the land, one can safely 

 assume there will be a considerable increase in the value of 

 the land, much more than the cost of the work. 



Question. I know a drainage district in southern Illinois, 

 along the Wabash, where it really injured the land, — amounted 

 to confiscation — because it put on such a heavy burden, and 

 the river overflows worse since the drainage ditch was dug 

 than before. It is not a deep river, it is a shallow riyer, and 

 it has really been a great detriment to the property that was 

 drained. 



Mr. McCrory. I think that is an example of a poorly 

 planned and poorly executed drainage project. I have been 

 discussing more the properly planned and properly executed 

 project. There are undoubtedly a good many poorly planned 

 drainage projects in the country that are not giving the returns 

 that they should. 



Question. On muck lands, would you favor laying the tile 

 on boards? 



Mr. McCrory. With muck soils, I think when they are 

 first reclaimed it is probably best to use open ditches until the 

 soil becomes quite compact; then drain tiles could be used. 

 I think it probably would be better to lay them on boards un- 

 less the subsoil was clay or something quite heavy, but muck 

 soils generally sink considerably after they are drained, some- 

 times as much as 6 or 8 inches, or even a foot. That sinking 

 will continue for some time and require very deep drainage to 

 install tiles so as to give proper depth until the muck has 

 stopped sinking; for that reason it is better to use open 

 ditches until the muck is quite compact. Another reason is 

 that you have to control the water on your muck soil, and if 

 you get the drainage too deep your soil will be too dry and 

 the crops will not be successful. 



Question. I would like to ask the speaker, in regard to 

 draining lands that have been seeded to grass, how often would 

 you have to return and reseed in order not to lose the benefit 

 of the seeding? Also, after a term of years, would the soil 

 change so that it would finally revert to its wild state? 



