150 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY MEETING 



of imlioaltlifiil waste lauds. The manipulation of the Nile floods, as' well as 

 certain experiments now in progress on the Illinois bottom lands, and the w^ork 

 actually accomplished in reclaiming river floodplains in Europe, suggests sav- 

 ing a part, at least, of the Mississippi River silts, and with them building up 

 the low places in the great floodplain. 



Certain favorable areas might be enclosed by levees, and into them the spring 

 floods could be cautiously admitted. By means of two gates a gentle circula- 

 tion could be established, so as to bring more silt-burdened waters over the land. 

 'J'he floods receding, the land would be drained, and the new layer of soil used 

 for crop raising. This process could be repeated annually until the land should 

 be above the danger of severe floods. The Mississippi carries each year to the 

 Gulf enough silt to cover a square mile to the depth of 268 feet. A portion of 

 this soil might be converted into natural levees, constituting the richest of 

 lands, elevating an area out of the reach of disastrous floods, reenforcing the 

 artificial levees, vastly improving the health conditions of portions of the 

 valley, and tending to regulate the flow of the river in times of danger. Pos- 

 sibly, in time, the entire floodplain of the Mississippi River would be reclaimed 

 for agriculture. Judging from previous improvements, the return would be 

 far greater than the expenditure. 



Present GcT in abstract extemporaneonsly by tlie senior antlior. 



Discussion 



Mr. E. W. Shaw: There is, of course, no question but that the building up 

 of floodplains, whether a natural, an artificial, or a combination process, is 

 often profitable to man in the long run if not immediately. It has been my 

 good fortune to see examples in the United States, Europe, and Egypt, and 

 also to see a good deal of the low^er Mississippi and its floodplain, which is 

 by no means free from either variety of upbuilding. Indeed, I think I have 

 seen some places where artificially controlled silting to bring the surface above 

 floods was done before white men came to the country. 



There is also, of course, no question but that it would be possible to build up 

 the floodplain until it would be higher than the highest recorded flood stage. 

 But that it would be a practical solution of the flood prohlem at present or in 

 the near future I very much doubt, for several reasons. The Mississippi is a 

 giant and in some respects a peculiar stream, and few people realize what it 

 means to modify its natural habits. One of the principal difficulties would be 

 to catch enough silt to amount to anything and yet transport it for many miles 

 out over the floodplain. in the natural overflows the bulk of the deposition 

 occurs on the natural levee and the total deposit at a distance of more than a 

 mile or two is, as one farmer put it to me, "scarcely enough to make a rail 

 slippery." To build, up a belt a mile wide on the natural levee where silting 

 would be easiest would cost a huge sum. It seems to me that Professor Atwood 

 is mistaken in his ideas that "the return would be far greater than the ex- 

 penditure," that the plan he advocates would soon eliminate the cost of the 

 present levee system, and that it could readily be made immediately beneficial 

 to the soil. Moreover, the opposing sentiment from farmer and navigation to 

 be overcome would be enormous. The land is now fertile, and where silting 



