THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



307 



channel 1,200 feet long with a grade of from 9 to 11 per 

 cent; this outlet is lined with reinforced concrete as a pro- 

 tection against erosion of the banks from the rushing flood 

 of water. 



Another project, recently completed, covers 70,000 acres 

 of land in the Vermillion River valley. This required a 

 canal of such dimensions that it is locally known as Little 

 Panama. Still another project along the Vermillion River, 

 now under construction, comprises a canal having a width 

 of 80 feet at the bottom, and with a capacity of 3,000 cubic 

 feet of water per second. 



A drainage project in Clark County contemplates the 

 drainage of an old lake bed that has no natural outlet. The 

 area to be drained covers only about 3,000 acres but the 

 land is rich and will be quite valuable after being reclaimed. 

 In order to carry out the project it will be necessary to 

 construct an outlet tunnel through the surrounding range 

 of hills ; the work will require an expenditure of about 

 $100,000, or at the rate of $36 an acre for the land re- 

 claimed. 



Importance of Drainage. 



From the foregoing it will be seen that even in states 

 situated in the higher altitudes near the middle of the 

 continent, there are large areas requiring reclamation by 

 drainage. These areas are, however, insignifiicant in ex- 

 tent as compared with the wet areas of the states along the 

 Gulf and Atlantic Seaboard. A very large proportion of 

 the 70,000,000 acres requiring drainage in this country, is 

 comprised in these states. The question is really one of 

 national importance. 



Many of the larger basins to be reclaimed lie in more 

 than one state, and in such cases questions of interstate 

 jurisdiction are involved. It would seem that the treatment 

 of such problems should logically be left to a national com- 

 mission, acting in harmony with the state authorities. 



Prospective Benefits. 



Drainage is not entirely a private or individual benefit. 

 For every acre of non-productive wet land that is reclaimed 

 by drainage, a corresponding benefit accures to the general 



public by increase in property values and by addition to the 

 taxable values of the commonwealth. Another valuable 

 public benefit resulting from drainage is the improvement 

 of the public roads. 



Still another and greater public benefit resulting from 

 drainage is health. In confirmation of this statement I will 

 quote from an address made at the anual meeting of the 

 Iowa State Drainage Association in Fort Dodge in Feb- 

 ruary, 1910, by the president of that association: "In 1870, 

 of every 1,000 deaths in the state, 52 were from malaria ; 

 more than five per cent of the mortality at that time was 

 due to the sloughs and ponds and stagnant water breeding 

 places for mosquitoes, the carriers of infection. Today the 

 word malaria is scarcely found in the vocabulary of the 

 Iowa doctor. Deaths from malaria have reached the cipher 

 point in our state. Drainage result greater production, more 

 taxable property, better roads and better health." These 

 words from a drainage authority in one of our prosperous 

 and progressive western states carry the weight of actual 

 experience. 



The Effect of Drainage on Stream Flow. 



The general problem of drainage involves deeper ques- 

 tions than simply removing surplus water from agricultural 

 lands. Where drainage can be handled under central super- 

 vision suitable provision will be made for reclaiming entire 

 districts under some comprehensive general plan instead of 

 providing temporary relief for isolated areas. The broad 

 view looking toward the caring for an entire watershed 

 and the needs of all the land affected therein must be 

 taken and not merely the needs of a single swamp or sub- 

 merged area. 



Another factor must be considered in the general 

 problem ; this comprises the effect upon a stream or water- 

 course of discharging a large volume of water from drain- 

 age ditches into the channel. In many cases it is found 

 advisable to take advantage of natural reservoirs in the 

 forms of lakes or ponds, lying sufficiently low to receive 

 the drainage from adjacent wet areas. Such lakes are 

 thus made to serve as storage reservoirs for conserving 



BUCKEYE TRACTION DITCHERS REVOLUTIONIZE 

 RECLAMATION WORK IN THE SOUTH 



SINCE the "BUCKEYE" has been used in 

 reclamation projects throughout the 

 South, thousands of acres of waste land 

 have been reclaimed and utilized for colo- 

 nization purposes. 



Before the "BUCKEYE" became an im- 

 portant, factor in reclamation projects, the 

 cost and hard work entailed in drainage and 

 irrigation impeded the colonization of 

 marshy land. 



The "BUCKEYE" was the first machine 

 made that could be operated on soft, 

 land. The apron tractions carry the 

 ditcher over wet ground that will not sustain 

 the weight of a team of horses and an empty 

 wagon. 



It is also the first machine made that will 

 cut a ditch with a sloping bank at a contin- 

 uous cut. Ditches of from 2J' to 12 foot top 

 can be cut with the "BUCKEYE", accord- 

 ing to the size of machine used. Every ditch 

 is of uniform size and perfect to grade. 



The "BUCKEYE" takes the place of from 

 50 to 150 men and does the work better, 

 faster and cheaper, reducing labor bills to 

 almost nothing. 



__WRITE TODAY FOR CATALOGUE No. 261"! 



This explains the BUCKEYE DITCHER and shows 

 you how you can turn your waste land into dollars 



THE BUCKEYE TRACTION DITCHER COMPANY 



FINDLAY, OHIO 



When writing to advertisers please mention The Irrigation Age. 



