RECLAIMING MUCK LAND 63 



which flows down past one side of our land, 

 and the water ultimately flows into Tona- 

 wanda creek, more than a mile and a half 

 away, and with a fall of less than 2 feet in 

 that distance. Naturally, a large part of the 

 water from this spring seeped out and main- 

 tained a wet condition of our muck land. 



"Our method of draining the soil was to 

 construct a large open ditch at one side and 

 adjacent to the hill lands. Where this ditch 

 leaves the muck for the hardpan bottom, 

 the muck narrows between the hill. Across 

 this neck of low land, we constructed a levee 

 with a large ditch on the inside. After con- 

 siderable disastrous experience with open 

 drains, we finally constructed a pumping 

 plant adjacent to this levee by means of 

 which the water can be pumped over the 

 levee and removed by gravity drainage, thus 

 insuring the safety of our crops. 



"A complete system of open ditches has 

 been constructed covering the muck area 

 and with the grades so arranged that the 

 lowest point is at the pumping plant. Con- 

 sequently, the drainage water accumulates 

 at this lowest point where it may be removed 

 by the pump. We use a large centrifugal 



