THE IERIGATION AGE. 



137 



would take a Fresno scraper and take down the knolls 

 and fill up the depressions with the dirt thus removed, in 

 the course of a year or two he would change the field 

 from one hard to irrigate to one exceedingly easy for irri- 

 gation, and he would find that practically one-half the 

 amount of water that he was compelled to use in the 

 first place is ample after the field has been smoothed in 

 this way. More than this, he will find that his crops yield 

 better, for when an excess of water is applied to the low 

 spots, the crop at these places in the field is always in- 

 jured, and it is not an exaggeration to say that as much 

 damage to the crop is done by forcing the water up to 

 the high spots as would be done by allowing these high 

 spots to suffer from a lack of water. 



A word of advice now, for the present season will soon 

 be upon us. As you irrigate your fields this spring and 

 summer stake the high spots, driving the stakes down so 

 that they will not interfere with harvesting and mark on 

 these stakes about how much too high the land is at that 

 point; then after the crop is harvested in the fall see to 

 it that these high spots are removed, and, after plowing, 

 smooth the surface with great care. When you stop to 

 consider that this work is a permanent improvement and 

 need not be done year after year, when once it has been 

 accomplished, and when you consider that during every 

 dry year the crops are injured for lack of water, it seems 

 that every intelligent farmer would realize the fact that it 

 will be a paying proposition to thoroughly prepare his 

 ground so that it will irrigate in the best possible manner. 

 See to it that the plowed field is in a perfect state of tilth 

 before the seed is planted, for this careful preparation is 

 what will put the bushels into the bin in the fall. 

 E. B. HOUSE, Colorado Agricultural College,, Fort Collins. 



Colo. 



SOIL SURVEY WORK. 



The Department of Agriculture, through the Bureau 

 of Soils, is cooperating in a soil survey investigation with 

 the state governments of Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, 

 Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Penn- 

 sylvania, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Ten- 

 nessee. Prof. Whitney, chief of the Bureau of Soils, in a 

 statement to Secretary Wilson, says: "This cooperative 

 soil-survey work has been very useful to the bureau in 

 bringing to our aid and assistance men having a thorough 

 knowledge of local conditions, and it has been of assist- 

 ance to the states in bringing to them the aid of men 

 who have a wider and more extensive knowledge of na- 

 tional conditions, or, in other words, of soil conditions 

 beyond the borders of the state. 



"This cooperative work should be encouraged and 

 more funds should be made available to meet the increas- 

 ing demands for its extension. At the same time it must 

 not be forgotten that there are over 30 states that are not 

 cooperating in which which there is a very strong demand 

 from citizens and associations for knowledge regarding 

 their soil resources, and from the federal viewpoint it is 

 just as important to study the soil resources and map 

 the soils in these states as it is in states where coopera- 

 tion can be arranged. Additional funds are greatly needed 

 for the extension of soil-survey work in 'the non-cooper- 

 ating states." 



SUMMARY REPORT OF THE FARMERS' INSTI- 

 TUTE WORK. 



The 1911 annual report of the director of the Office 

 of Experimental Stations has been submitted to Secretary 

 Wilson. An interesting feature of the work of the office 

 is a review of the Farmers' Institute work. 



Reports were received during the past year from 44 

 states and territories giving data respecting their insti- 

 tute work. In 41 of these, regular institutes were held 

 to the number of 5,582; 3,723 were one-day meetings, 1,704 

 two days, and 155 three days or more. 



The total number of sessions was 15,532, with an ag- 

 gregate attendance of 1,904.676. If the states and terri- 

 tories not reporting equal the sessions and attendance of 

 last year, the aggregate number of sessions for the entire 

 country will amount to 16,545 and the attendance to 

 2,074.099, as against 16,586 sessions in the previous year 

 and 2.395,808 attendance, a falling off in sessions of 41 



and in attendance of 321,709. The special institutes aggre- 

 gated an attendance of 1,252,933, making the entire attend- 

 ance at institute meetings of all kinds 3,327,092, or 383,848 

 more than in 1910. The special institutes are rapidly 

 growing in importance and interest. One hundred and 

 forty-nine movable schools were held with an attendance 

 of 39,965; 62 railroad instruction trains were run, covering 

 35,705 miles, accompanied by 740 lecturers and attended 

 by 939,120 persons. Four hundred and fifty-nine inde- 

 pendent institutes were held, with an attendance of 130,917, 

 and 15 round-up institutes, continuing through 153 ses- 

 sions, attended by 22,730 persons. There were 303 picnics 

 and conventions, consisting of 269 sessions, attended by 

 120,161 persons. 



DRAINAGE PROPOSITIONS INVESTIGATED. 



The annual report of Dr. A. C. True, director of the 

 Office of Experiment Stations, to Secretary Wilson shows 

 a great amount of drainage work done by his office. In 

 treating with the subject the director says : 



"The following projects of survey drainage have been 

 completed and are in course of construction : 



"Arkansas Black River levees. Delaware Redden 

 farm. Georgia McRae farm. Kentucky Marrs farm. 

 Maryland Bureau of Animal Industry farm, Princess 

 Anne Academy farm. Mississippi Tuscumbia river, Wal- 

 nut Grove plantation, Rogers farm, Bolivar county drain- 

 age district. Nebraska Elkhorn river bench lands. North 

 Carolina Chadbourn drainage district, Pantego drainage 

 district, Broad Creek drainage district, Pender county 

 test farm, Lyon swamp canal, and Cape Fera river levee. 

 South Dakota Vermilion River drainage district. Texas 

 Barstow district. Vermont Morgan horse farm. Vir- 

 ginia Truck experiment station farm, Berkeley swamp. 



"Reclamation of lands subject to overflow, as by floods : 

 Alabama Little Hurricane creek. Nebraska Bench 

 lands of Upper Elkhorn river. Oklahoma Black Bear 

 creek. 



"Reclamation of lands continually wet (swamps, 

 marshes, etc.): Arkansas Crooked Bayou drainage dis- 

 trict. Mississippi Belonzi drainage district. North Car- 

 olina Back swamp and Jacob swamp. South Carolina 

 Little Wambaw swamp. 



"Improvement of natural water courses or construc- 

 tion of new channels to provide outlets: Georgia McRae 

 Branch. North Carolina Third creek and Fourth creek. 

 Haw river. Virginia Chickahominy river. 



"Farm drainage : Arkansas Penitentiary farm. Geor- 

 gia McRae farm. Maryland -Bureau of Animal Industry 

 farm. Mississippi Rogers farm. Walnut Grove planta- 

 tion. North Carolina Pender County test farm, Edge- 

 combe County test farm. Red Crest test farm. South 

 Carolina James Island. Clemson College farm. Virginia 

 Sterling demonstration farm, Arlington experiment 

 farm. 



"Drainage of irrigated lands : Colorado Grand River 

 Valley, San Luis Valley. Arkansas River Valley. Idaho 

 Payette and Boise River Valleys, Drainage District No. 1. 

 New Mexico Pecos Valley. Texas Lower Rio Grande 

 Valley. Utah Various tracts in several counties. Wash- 

 ington Spokane County. Yakima Valley, including Moxee 

 Valley. Wyoming Big Horn Basin, including Grey Bull 

 Valley; Shoshone Valley. 



"Alabama Prairie lands. California Lands injured by 

 alkali in Orange County. Georgia Effingham County. 

 Telfair County. Maryland River bottom lands in Mont- 

 gomery County. Massachusetts- Green Harbor River 

 marsh lands. Misouri Wyaconda River. North Caro- 

 lina Flea Hill drainage district, Salem Creek, Beaver 

 Dam Swamp, Brown Marsh. South Carolina Sumter. 

 Levy Bay, Wappahoola plantation. Dean Hall plantation. 

 Wadmalaw Island. Switzerland, Great Pedee River. Vir- 

 ginia Drainage District No. 1, Newport News. Meherrin 

 River." 



ENGINEERING FOR LAND DRAINAGE. 



This is the title of a new book by C. G. Elliott, C.,E., 

 Chief of Drainage Investigations of the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture, and is especially designed as a hand-book for 

 engineers working out the various problems of land drainage. 

 The book contains 23 chapters and many tables and illus- 

 Continued on page 156. 



