312 RURAL NEW YORK 



certainty under the earlier language of the Constitu- 

 tion. 



Under the iigvicultural drainage law, the machin- 

 ery of organizing and financing such a movement 

 must be provided locally out of inexperienced per- 

 sons and often with poorly trained helj). The 

 movement toward the drainage of a tract of land is 

 instituted through the County or Supreme Court 

 Judge of the district in which the improvement is 

 located. The bonds authorized for meeting the cost 

 of improvement under this law may be either town- 

 ship or district bonds and run for periods of five 

 years until the total amount is paid. 



It is important to note that the expense of drain- 

 ing and improving any wet or swamp land for agri- 

 cultural purposes under either provision is not borne 

 by the State but is assessed against the land benefited 

 in proportion to the benefit received. Such im- 

 provement is a long-time investment. Under the 

 Conservation Commission, the State does make some 

 outright contribution in bearing the expense of the 

 preliminary survey to determine whether the propo- 

 sition is feasible. 



These provisions are especially important to the 

 farmer since, in addition to some two thousand square 

 miles of swamp land in the State, there is several 

 times as large an area now devoted to crops that needs 

 partial or complete drainage to make it as profitable 

 for crop production as possible. In many cases, the 

 ditches, drains and dykes necessary for this purpose 

 involve more than one owner and the law provides 



