Col. Will L. Sargent, traveling immigration agent of the joint 

 Texas and Louisiana Immigration Bureau, is another enthusiastic be- 

 liever in reclamation by the drainage process and has spent a great 

 deal of his time studying land conditions, soil possibilities, the results 

 of reclamation, the crops that are produced after the land has been 

 reclaimed and every other phase of the subject. 



"The reclamation, by drainage, of our wet lands will produce 

 better health," declared Col. Sargent, "and if the 74,000,000 acres in 

 the United States were reclaimed and divided into 40-acre farms there 

 would be added 1,850,000 new farms. And if each farmer spent $350 

 per annum the purchasing power of this class of farmers alone would 

 mean $647,500,000 that would go into the various channels of trade, 

 etc." 



Continuing further along that line, Col. Sargent said: "Estimating 

 five persons to the family for each of the 40-acre farms, the agricul- 

 tural population of the United States would be increased 5,550,000. 

 Under intense cultivation these lands could be made to produce, at a 

 most conservative estimate, $50 per acre, or $3,700,000,000, as an 

 additional production of wealth which would be distributed throughout 

 the country. ^ 



"The federal government places the cost for draining at from $2 

 to $30 per acre. Let us place the average cost at $25 per acre, and 

 you will find that the total cost for reclaiming the 74,000,000 acres 

 would amount to $1,850,000,000. Any drained project, if served by 

 transportation, judiciously managed, will yield a much larger profit as 

 an investment than almost any other line that is conservative that one 

 can engage in. Besides, it is a safe investment. 



"The cost of drainage, as compared with other work of improve- 

 ment, is small," continued Col. Sargent. "The average cost of the 

 reclaiming of arid and semi-arid lands for irrigation in the western 

 part of the United States, which is done by the federal government 

 under the Cary Act, is about $36 per acre, some projects costing as 

 high as $100 per acre. It is a safe conclusion to say that a person 

 can acquire at least two acres of drained land for the cost of one of 

 irrigated lands. Besides the greater portion of the lands subject to 

 drainage already have, or there are nearby, transportation facilities 

 as well as settlement, which is seldom the case with irrigated projects. 



"If these rich lands were drained and placed upon the market, we 

 would not only stop the great tide of emigration from the United 

 States to Canada, but in turn could secure many Canadians that are 

 well-to-do, and who have become tired of that frigid climate and 

 desire to migrate where they do not have to house their stock and 

 themselves nine months in the year to keep from freezing, thereby 

 consuming the most of their products made during the short-crop 

 season." 



In order to present the magnitude of the swamp areas of this coun- 

 try, it is simply necessary for us to state that it equals about one- 

 sixth of the entire cultivated areas of the country. 



These swamp lands are exceedingly rich in humus and valuable 

 plant foods. When drained and prepared for cultivation, they will 

 produce larger crops than any other existing soils. 



29 



