4 BULLETIN 304, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
the landowner. Several quite different plans for the drainage of a 
given district might secure equally well the desired improvement. 
In such a case that plan should be chosen which will prove cheapest 
in the long run; and to determine the best and cheapest plan is the 
special province of the engineer. One of the first steps taken in 
beginning a large drainage project should be to secure the services 
of a competent and experienced engineer. Such a man is needed to 
make the necessary surveys and plans for the work; to make inspec- 
tions and estimates during construction ; and, when a pumping plant 
is a part of the work, to test the completed plant to see that it com- 
plies with the specifications and meets the guaranties of capacity 
and efficiency. He is needed also to advise as to the most economical 
and efficient operation of the plant after its completion and as to its 
management, maintenance, and care. 
Drainage by means of pumps has been carried on in European 
countries for the last 100 years and has been rapidly increasing in 
this country during the last 25 years. Through this extensive 
experience, including numerous failures, a considerable amount of 
knowledge is now available on the subject of the proper arrange- 
ment and the requisite capacity of pumping plants. It is the object 
of this bulletin to discuss the various questions arising in connection 
with the reclamation of agricultural land by means of pumps in order 
that the conclusions drawn from experience may be available to all 
landowners, district officers, and drainage engineers who are inter- 
ested in this kind of drainage. 
DRAINAGE PUMPING IN NORTHERN EUROPE. 
Draining with the aid of pumps, or what may be termed "lift 
drainage," is required for large areas of productive agricultural land 
in Europe. Notable examples of successful work of this character 
are found in Holland, eastern England, and in Ireland, while large 
marsh areas in both northern and southern Italy depend upon 
pumps for adequate drainage. The development of mechanical 
means of removing water from the land has, in most instances, been 
forced upon landowners when gravity drainage failed to give suffi- 
cient relief, and for that reason the movement was slow, particularly 
in the early history of such drainage. The pumps which were first 
used were the well-known scoop wheel and the Archimedean screws, 
which were driven by windmills. 
The Zuidplas polder of Holland, containing 10,363 acres, lies 22 
feet below the level of the River Yssel, into which it is drained. In 
1825 the basin was drained by dividing it by a canal into two parts 
and raising the water into the river by two lifts. The first or lower 
lift was accomplished by 15 windmills driving 8 Archimedean screws 
and 7 scoop wheels, while for the upper lift there were 15 windmills 
