220 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



May 



which such a body of water exerts on 

 tempering the northers which blow 

 across it. There may be something in 

 this objection but opinions are so di- 

 verse on the subject that it is impos- 

 sible to conjecture its effects. In case 

 frosts are more severe after the drain- 

 age is completed the drainage would 

 be blamed although the frost might 

 really be due to other causes. The 

 planting of trees over this area which 

 would immediately follow its drainage 

 would probably more than counteract 

 the influence of the drainage. Since 

 the water in the 'Glades comes mostly 

 from deep springs it is warmer in 

 cold weather and cooler in warm 

 weather than the air. 



It is the original cost of such pro- 

 jects which stagger one, but operations 

 just as great have been completed or 

 are in process of construction. When 

 the Panama Canal is done and in 

 working order we will regard it as a 

 matter of course and wonder why 

 some nation had not done it long ago. 

 The great Gulf trade now all goes 

 around the south of Florida and when 

 one sees ship after ship loaded with 

 valuable cargoes piled up hopeless 

 wrecks on the Florida Keys with mil- 

 lions of dollars worth of human labor 

 lost he realizes that a canal from Jack- 

 sonville to the Gulf in a saving also of 

 coal and time, would in the long run 

 prove a great investment. 



So when one sees thousands of 

 farmers working in poor sandy soil, 

 which ought to be left to produce for- 

 est, he wishes that they might have 

 some of the unreclaimed swampland 

 which they are prevented from using 

 in consequence of the great initial cost. 



It is an indisputable fact that land 

 which is easy to clear is usually cleared 

 first and that lands which have been 

 reclaimed by drainage and irrigation 

 are really the lands which have the 

 most lasting fertility and the greater 

 productiveness. When we consider 

 the smallness of the return and the loss 

 of time and labor in working poor 

 land over a period of many years the 

 first cost after all counts for lttle. The 

 man who pays five dollars an acre for 

 poor land because he cannot afford to 



pay one hundred for good land is 

 making poor investment. 



One must beware drained lands 

 which may be subject to flood in se- 

 vere storms. On our eastern coast of 

 the United States there are hundreds 

 of acres of banked lands once carefully 

 cultivated now swamp again. Drain- 

 age must be perfect to meet extreme 

 conditions of storm. This means 

 great and lasting works on a large 

 scale similar to those of Holland. 



The Everglades are higher than the 

 sea. There is no danger of floods ex- 

 cept from excessive precipitation. The 

 water is constantly coming up from 

 below. It is merely a matter of 

 ditches. And ditches are merely a 

 matter of money, men, and machinery. 

 That work has begun is evidenced by 

 the following note clipped from the 

 Miami Metropolis: 



"Information has reached the city 

 that the dredge under construction at 

 Fort Lauderdale for the State, to be 

 used in digging a canal to drain the 

 Everglades, as proposed by Governor 

 Broward and the State Drainage Com- 

 mission, was successfully launched on 

 Monday, and will at once be fitted 

 with the machinery, all of which is on 

 hand, and the craft made ready to be- 

 gin dredging operations within a 

 month. 



"The hull of the dredge is 50x112 

 feet in size, and it is said the machin- 

 ery to be installed will have a greater 

 capacity than any similar dredge ever 

 constructed in the State. Governor 

 Broward will come down again and be 

 present when the craft is put to work 

 on the project which is just now agi- 

 tating and interesting the State." 



But the Drainage Commission has 

 ordered the special drainage tax to be 

 severed from this year's collections un- 

 til pending litigation has been settled. 

 This means the suspension of the 

 "Everglade scheme" for the present at 

 least, though there is apparently noth- 

 ing to prohibit Governor Brownard 

 from continuing the work of building 

 dredges with the money already on 

 hand in the Internal Improvement 

 Fund. 



