Nov. 5, 1917 
Run-off from Drained Prairie Lands 
255 
The district was first inclosed and the pumps started in March, 1912. 
At that time not many of the field ditches were cut. The work of cut¬ 
ting the ditches was carried on during the summer months and was 
finished in October or November. This district has a very complete 
system of drainage canals, spaced mile apart, although the usual 
spacing is % mile. The levee is of ample cross section and does not allow 
any seepage to enter the district. The pumping-plant capacity is 
approximately 1 inch per 24 hours, and the reservoir capacity is approxi¬ 
mately 0.75 inch. 
Conditions during 1912.—As stated above, the land was not well 
drained until toward the end of the year. The results for 1912 are inter¬ 
esting chiefly because they show the amount of water to be removed 
from this kind of soil when it first drained. There were no ponds or 
other bodies of water within the district. The rainfall records for 1912 
are those of the nearest station, New Orleans, distant about 20 miles. 
While in detail these records differ materially from those that would 
have been obtained on the tract, the total for the period covered is prob¬ 
ably not greatly in error. 
Conditions during 1913.—During this year the entire area was drained 
by the pumping plant. The water was held about 4 feet below the sur¬ 
face and no flooding occurred. Owing to the soft nature of the soil, the 
small field ditches were quite badly choked with soft mud and did not 
carry the water very rapidly to the canals. During dry periods it was 
observed that the level of the ground water was considerably below the 
bottoms of these small field ditches; this indicated subdrainage of the 
soil by the canals which were spaced only % mile apart. The rainfall 
records for 1913 were taken from the rain gage on the tract. About 400 
acres of that part of the district bordering the river and about 100 acres 
of the prairie land were in cultivation in 1913. 
Conditions during 1914.—During the entire year the tract was well 
drained and the water held about 4 feet below the surface. In March 
two periods of heavy pumping occurred. In each period the plant 
operated at full capacity for a little over 24 hours without stopping. 
The water, however, did not approach nearer than 2 feet to the surface 
of the ground. About 400 acres of that part of the district bordering 
the river and about an equal amount of the prairie land were in cultiva¬ 
tion. All the land that was cultivated was well drained by field ditches 
which had been cleared of soft mud and vegetation. The field ditches of 
the remainder of the tract were still in very poor condition. 
Conditions during 1915.—The amount of cultivated land in 1915 and 
the general conditions of field ditches and drainage canals were the same 
as in the previous year. While the first two months of the year were rather 
above the average in amount of rainfall, the remainder of the spring and 
the summer were very dry, except that one heavy rainfall occurred in 
June. At the end of September this district was flooded by a combina¬ 
tion of excessive rainfall and water coming in from the adjacent land; 
