THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



methods of drainage, one employing open ditches, the 

 other drain tile. The drain-tile plan, while leaking the 

 first cost less than for the open-ditch system, since no 

 provision has to be made for the land taken up and the 

 crossings of roads and irrigation canals, requires ample 

 provision for securing the drains and operating pumps. 



The abundance of the water supply and the ap- 

 parent necessity for its liberal use upon tne lands un- 

 der Sunnyside Canal, in the Yakima Valley, Washing- 

 ton, have hastened the filling i\p of the soil with sur- 

 plus water. At the edges of the slopes are saturated 

 spots and in many places alkali has accumulated to an 

 injurkras extent. Test wells were sunk and a .close 

 study of the fluctuations of the water level was made. 

 The source of the oversupply and the nature of the 

 substrata having been determined, the depth and grade 

 of proposed drains were shown upon a map furnished 

 to the owners. 



In this, as in all other cases, it is evident that a 

 thorough knowledge of conditions governing the move- 

 ment of water in the soil is essential. The expense in 

 each case is estimated nccording to local conditions and 

 an ample margin of safety" is allowed. In each dis- 

 trict the disposal of drainage water receives careful at- 

 tention, and' cautions as to the necessity for studying 

 local conditions are added. The top and bottom widths 

 necessary for permanent maintenance are carefully esti- 

 mated. The ditches are planned to provide also for 

 winter storm water. The attention given to these 

 typical cases shows the value of the expert advice on 

 questions of drainage provided by the Department of 

 Agriculture. , 



In the Atanum Valley, in order to remove alkali 

 from abandoned lands and protect hop fields from its 

 inroads it is necessary to drain the subsoil so that the 

 alkali dissolved and washed down from the surface may 

 be carried away from the lower levels. Directions for 

 making such ditches are part of the report. The plan 

 for the drainage of a farm of eighty acres in this val- 

 ley, while applicable to particular conditions, suggests 

 how drainage may be made to counteract excessive sub- 

 irrigation. Practical work in the removal of alkali is 

 illustrated by the description of the reclamation of 

 seventy-two acres in Kittitas County, Washington. 



Although it is but seven years since irrigation be- 

 gan under the Farmers' canal in Grey Bull Valley, Wy- 

 oming, there are boggy tracts -of considerable extent at 

 the foot of the benches which are now given over to 

 aquatic grasses where formerly some of the most pro- 

 ductive land of the valley was found. In 'other places 

 the deposits of white alkali have destroyed the fertility 

 of the soil. While there is a gravel vein of great thick- 

 ness that receives and conducts away from the benches 

 the surplus ' water applied in irrigation, a stratum of 

 impervious clay finally arrests the downward course 

 of the water arid turns it to the surface at the foot of 

 the benches and alkali accumulates wherever the sur- 

 face is exposed to evaporation. The remedv suggested 

 is to deepen the ditches provided for waste until they 

 strike well into the -gravel, at the same time -arranging 

 them so that the seepage water collected in them may 

 be discharged into ditches lower down, thus adding 

 somewhat to the supply. More frequent watering will 

 be required on this area than on land with clay sub- 

 soil, but the distribution of water should be more di- 

 rectly and carefullv made. That a provision for dis- 

 posing of the excess of water would also relieve the 



land of alkali deposits is evident from the fact that 

 the alkali washed out of this gravelly bottom land at 

 each irrigation, if left during one season, would de- 

 stroy a crop. 



An entirely different problem in drainage is pre- 

 sented by conditions along Missouri River in western 

 Iowa. This very fertile country is lower than the 

 hanks of the rivers which form its boundaries and is 

 threatened with overflow whenever the river rises. Two 

 features are included in the plans for relieving this 

 situation. First, the construction of a ditch to carry 

 water from the Little Sioux across the intervening 

 triangle and deliver it into the more capacious channel 

 of the Missouri; second, the straightening of the chan- 

 nel of the Little Sioux by cutoffs. By the wise pro- 

 visions of^the State drainage laws the entire cost of 

 these improvements can be met by issuing bonds, which 

 will be amply covered by the returns from the re- 

 claimed land. While the need of underdrainage is not 

 lost sight of, the emphasis here and in the districts of 

 Hancock County, Iowa, is laid upon the improvement 

 of the natural channels for carrying off water. 



The prevention of hillside erosion by underdrains 

 was the object of an experiment made upon a farm in 

 nOTthern Georgia. Lines of drain tile were laid across 

 the slope to intercept water, which, oozing through the 

 soil and cropping out at some lower point on the sur- 

 face of the hill, formed seeped spots, the starting points , 

 of surface washing, which in time made wide and deep 

 gullies that necessitated the abandonment of the whole 

 field. After the tile was laid the gullies were filled and 

 the surface graded and dressed in such a way that 

 all surface water would be scattered instead of con- 

 i entrated. In the season that has elapsed since the im- 

 provement was made a crop has been raised and no 

 washing has occurred. 



Throughout the report* the necessity for making 

 complete preliminary surveys 'and for gathering full 

 data in regard to each locality is made apparent. The 

 question of the adaptability of different methods of 

 drainage is in each case considered, while the legal 

 and economic aspects of each problem are not lost 

 sight of. These clear statements of practical problems 

 and their solutions are a valuable addition- to the libra- 

 ry of the intelligent farmer and should have careful 

 reading. 



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BROUGHT BY THE POSTMAN. 



Letters from Correspondents to The Irrigation Age. 



NEW YORK; July 20, 1904. 

 THE. IRRIGATION AGE,- Chicago,-Ill. 



Gentlemen : We would like very much to obtain a recent 

 and authentic list of irrigation companies in the United 

 Slates, particularly those located in the South Central States 

 arid Texas. If you can tell us where we can find such a list, 

 kindly oblige us -with the information. 



Very truly yours, 

 INTERNATIONAL STEAM PUMP Co., 



GEORGE H. GIBSON. 

 Manager Dept. of Publicity. 



