I 7 8 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



April 



a Fell as rain or snow. 



Total volume of canal water used. ..cubic feet.. 9,180,140 

 Volume falling as rain and snow do 1,729,480 



Total volume from above spurces..do 10,909,620 



Total water used acre feet.. 250.4 



Salts added in the canal water pounds.. 900,000 



The total volume of drainage was 

 5.651,776 cubic feet, or 51.8 per cent 

 of the water added to the tract. This 

 51.8 per cent drainage water carried 

 3,648 tons of salts over the outlet weir. 

 The remainder of the salts removed from 

 the tract have passed into the deeper 

 subsoil and been carried away by the 

 natural subdrainage. 



The results so far obtained indicate 

 the ultimate complete reclamation of 

 the land. The single season's opera- 

 tions produced marked improvement in 

 the land, not only in the alkali content, 

 as shown by the soil tests made, or as 

 shown by the 'salts in the drainage, but 

 also as shown in the improved tilth of 

 the soil and favorable changes that have 

 taken place in its physical properties. 



The indications are that the greater 

 part of the tract is at present sufficiently 

 sweetened to allow the growing of shal- 

 low-rooted crops. It is the intention to 

 continue the work until reclamation is 

 complete, and the data pertaining to 

 the process of flooding and drainage will 

 be supplemented by practical crop tests 

 during the season of 1904. 



A DEMONSTRATION AT FRESNO, CALI- 

 FORNIA. 



At the time of settlement of the 

 country south of Fresno, there was lit- 



tle indication of the presence of alkali 

 in the soil, and no one then suspected 

 that serious damage would result from 

 irrigation. When, after a few years, 

 alkali commenced to show in the vine- 

 yards and orchards the attention of 

 thoughtful men was directed toward 

 remedying the evil, but up to the time 

 of undertaking this experiment nothing 

 effective had been accomplished. 



In 1900 the region was studied by 

 the Bureau of Soils, and recommended 

 drainage with frequent cultivation and 

 copious irrigation as the solution of the 

 problem. 



It was decided to bring the value of 

 drainage in reclamation work before the 

 people by actually reclaiming some of 

 this land. 



A 20- acre tract was selected, belong- 

 ing to S. M. Toft and N. H. Hansen, 

 situated on Fig and Central avenues, 

 about 2^ miles south of Fresno, and 

 the work was undertaken in cooperation 

 with these gentlemen. 



The northern part of the tract had 

 been settled upon by Mr. Toft in 1876, 

 and at that time showed no sign of al- 

 kali. In 1899 Mr. Toft bought an ad- 

 ditional 20 acres, at $350 an acre, the 

 average value of land in the vicinity at 

 the time. The southern part of the 

 tract was occupied in 1862 by Mr. Han- 

 sen, and at that time was partially alka- 

 line. It has never produced good crops. 

 In 1890 alkali commenced to show on 

 the northern part, and in 1898 and 1899 

 it was practically abandoned. 



The tract lies in a level district where 

 it was impossible to obtain a gravity 

 outlet for the drainage water, except 

 by digging a drain 2 miles long, so in 

 order to raise the drainage water to the 

 surface of the ground a chain pump 

 operated by a water wheel was installed 

 on Central Canal, where it crosses Fig 

 avenue. A drainage system of this 

 kind is admittedly not so desirable as 

 one in which a gravity outlet can be 

 maintained. 



Three-inch, 4-inch, and 6-inch tile 

 were laid over the tract at an average 

 depth of a little over 3 feet and 1 50 feet 

 apart. The original intention was to 

 use nothing smaller than 4-inch tile, but 

 the makers were unable to supply enough 



