8 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THH BUREAU OF SOILS, 1919. 



Otter, Ea«;le, and AVhite Fox Creeks, tributaries of Boone River, 

 have cut channels throu<;h the fhit prairies. They are characterized 

 by narrow bottom lands, winding; courses, short, gently sloping val- 

 ley walls, and slu<rgish flow. All have a <;eneral southwesterly 

 course. 'J'he natural draina<re alonfj^ the Boone Kiver and these trib- 

 utaries is limited to the adjacent farms, and in many eases almost 

 to the channels of the sti'eanis themselvt^s, tiu' topo<j:rai)hy being such 

 that in places the tlrainage of the upland is actually away from the 

 streams. 



Artificial channels in the u]^per courses of the tributaries increase 

 their capacity to carry the drainage water from the intricate network 

 of open ditches and large concrete mains which have been built to 

 drain the flat interstream areas. About $1,000,(K)0 has been si)ent to 

 date on these artificial drainage waj^s. The fall in the ditches aver- 

 ages about 1 foot to the mile. The tiling is so extensive as to aflford 

 a continuous flow of water in many open ditches, and the flow is 

 strong enough to maintain the channel. In many of the.se large 

 ditches 48-inch concrete tile is being laid and covered over, thus 

 eliminating the expense of redredging certain sections of the ditches 

 where wind, weathering, and cattle have gradually filled them. Be- 

 cause of the very gradual fall, only a slight filling is necessary to 

 impair the drainage efficiency. 



The only native forest areas are scattered strips on the slopes 

 adjacent to the streams and lakes and on the narrow first bottoms. 

 The growth consists of red cedar, cottonwood, aspen, quaking asp, 

 willow, walnut, butternut, hickory, oak, elm, ash, basswootl, sumac, 

 hackberry, cherry, and other hardwood trees. Artificial plantings 

 for windbreak ])rotection are mostly of cedar, spruce, pine, wallow, 

 cottonwoinl, ash, and maple. 



The water supply for stock and domestic use generally comes from 

 drilled wells 25 feet deep. In the higher central part of the moraine 

 belt a lift of from 50 to lUO feet is required in tlie deep wells, while 

 farther east on the lower ground the water rises nearly to the surface. 

 In the lower part of the valley of the Iowa River, and at Belmond 

 and Dows, flowing wells have been obtained. In the greater part 

 of the western half of the county the water rises to wnthin a few feet 

 of the top of the wells, or above the surface in the lower areas. 

 Two-thirds of the western part of the county is in the artesian-w^ater 

 district, which is said to have more flowing wells for its size than 

 any other area in the country. It is stated that a flow can be ob- 

 tained at some point on approximately half of the farms. The w^ater 

 is of excellent quality, and wells in that area have never been known 

 to go dry. A few springs are found along the slopes of the Boone 

 River. Some windmills are in use, but gasoline engines are gen- 

 erally used for pumping. 



