148 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



DRAINAGE OF THE FLORIDA EVERGLADES. 



The land known as the Florida Everglades has been 

 of historical interest since the Seven-year Seminole In- 

 dian War, which ended in 1842, during which time a 

 meager knowledge of that peculiar area was obtained 

 and later published in various brief reports. Its re- 

 clamation for farming purposes has generally been re- 

 garded as impossible, or at least so visionary as to merit 

 no attention until recently. The preliminary work for 

 its drainage, inaugurated by the State in 1906, is sharply 

 criticised in many quarters and bitterly opposed in 

 others. There is no question but that this area occupies 

 a most unique position among the various drainage 

 projects now receiving attention in various parts of the 

 country. It is a swamp plain extending from the south 

 shore of Lake Okeechobee to the south boundary of the 

 State, 5,000 square miles in extent and covered with 

 saw grass of extraordinary height relieved by scattered 

 hillocks which are covered with pine, palmetto, and vari- 

 ous subtropical bushes. This plain is covered with water 

 to various depths during the entire year. 



begun to dredge the channel from the head of New 

 river at Fort Lauerdale on the east coast, northeasterly 

 to the southern border of Lake Okeechobee the first 

 move made toward the drainage of any considerable por- 

 tion of the Everglades these and other undetermined 

 matters essential to the ultimate success of this vast 

 reclamation project still confront the State and other 

 owners of land to be affected. The State Board, appre- 

 ciating this state of affairs, has, through the Governor, 

 asked that the U. S. Department of Agriculture through 

 Irrigation and Drainage Investigations of the Office of 

 Experiment Stations make the matter a subject of spe- 

 cial investigation and report. 



A preliminary examination of the Everglades was 

 made by Mr. J. C. Wright, drainage engineer of the 

 Office of Experiment Stations, followed by a conference 

 with the governor and a number of members of Con- 

 gress of Florida, which resulted in the Office of Experi- 

 ment Stations undertaking an investigation which in- 

 cludes the running of a line of levels from the west to 

 the east side of the Glades, something never heretofore 

 attempted. This survey was begun at Fort Myers in 



Potatoes from Rifle Creek Valley, Colo. 



Whenever the question of the agricultural possi- 

 bilities of the Everglades is raised, several problems 

 present themselves for solution. One is the removal of 

 the excess of water which makes this the largest swamp 

 area of the country. Not only is there an annual rain- 

 fall of 60 inches to be considered, but water is also con- 

 tributed by the overflow of Lake Okeechobee, which re- 

 ceives the drainage of not less than 5,000 square miles 

 from the northern portion of the State and has only one 

 small relief channel, the Caloosahatchee river, which dis- 

 charges westerly into the Gulf. This being inadequate, 

 the lake spills over on the glade lands lying at the south. 



The depth and structural character of the soil has 

 not been determined nor studied closely. The Disston 

 Sugar Plantation, established several years ago north of 

 Lake Okeechobee but now abandoned, demonstrated that 

 the muck soil in that locality when drained produced 

 sugar cane of superior quality and quantity. The sta- 

 bility of artificial drainage channels in this territory, 

 the control of the water level in soils of a muck or peat 

 character, and the amount of shrinkage likely to take 

 place where drainage is accomplished, are yet subjects 

 of speculation. Those glade lands whose producing 

 properties have been tested, are confined to the little 

 glade openings at the border of the great swamp, which 

 are not muck lands and in this respect are wholly dis- 

 similar to those in the interior as far as examinations 

 have disclosed their character. 



While the State Drainage Board of Florida has 



January, last. It is in charge of Mr. John T. Stewart 

 assisted by Lawrence Brett, drainage engineers of the 

 Office of Experiment Stations. Those engineers have a 

 corps of assistants equipped for making all the necessary 

 engineering and physical examinations. The line of 

 levels which starts at tide water at Fort Myers, will be 

 carried across the state connecting the surface of Lake 

 Okeechobee and the upper part of the Everglades with 

 tide water at the east coast. Examinations will be made 

 of the physical structure and depths of muck or other 

 material overlying the rock which is said to constitute 

 the substrata of the entire area. 



This preliminary examination relating to the agri- 

 cultural possibilities of the historical Everglades in- 

 cludes not only instrumental engineering but problems 

 in drainage construction and consideration of the sub- 

 sequent behavior and value of the soil for productive 

 uses. The examinations will be made with a view of 

 determining the most feasible and practicable plan for 

 draining the whole or a part of the Everglades, in which 

 will also be taken into account their probable agricul- 

 tural value when drained. If the land can be success- 

 fully reclaimed, its value will be measured largely by 

 the staple subtropical crops that may be produced and 

 exported. It is expected that the investigations already 

 begun will be continued until some definite conclusions 

 have been reached upon all of the doubtful and unde- 

 termined factors pertaining to the drainage of the 

 Florida Everglades. 



