LUTHER BURBANK 



Probably half the low-lying soils in the United 

 States could be made more productive by drainage. 

 Even if the soil of your lawns and gardens is fairly 

 productive, you may advantageously consider the 

 advisability of introducing such a system of drain- 

 age as that which we have employed at Santa Rosa 

 with such striking results. 



The soil consisted of what is called adobe, a 

 black clay-like soil, said to be of volcanic origin, 

 and this particular piece cracked so during the 

 latter part of the dry season, that it was considered 

 unsafe to pasture stock on it, as it endangered the 

 legs of the animals, the cracks being often several 

 inches in width and apparently bottomless. No 

 crop had been grown here for years; and house 

 lots a mile or more out sold for about the price I 

 paid for the four acres. 



Of course there is nothing novel about the 

 statement that the drainage of land is important. 

 The matter has been more or less understood since 

 the earliest periods. Yet a very large part of the 

 land of the United States that is given over to lawns 

 and gardens is left to depend entirely on natural 

 drainage, and fails to produce anything like the 

 crops that might be grown on it, if a more rational 

 provision had been made for adjusting the water 

 supply. 



In California the value of drainage has been 



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