26 o 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XI, No. 6 
Conditions during 1915.—During the first three months of the year 
the rainfall was heavy and the water level in the surrounding canals out¬ 
side the district was from 1 to 2 feet above normal. As a result consid¬ 
erable seepage entered the district, and the amount pumped during these 
months was above normal. The following three months were very dry 
and no pumping occurred. The summer months were about normal as 
to percentage of rainfall pumped. At the end of September the records 
were rendered abnormal by the entrance of outside water into the district, 
and records were not resumed until the end of the year. The amount of 
cultivated land was increased to 800 acres. (See Table VIII.) 
JEFFERSON DRAINAGE DISTRICT NO. 3—AREA, 5,000 ACRES 
This district is located about 25 miles southwest of New Orleans on 
Bayou Barataria. One entire side of the district is bounded by the above 
bayou, and two other branch bayous border the ends of the district. The 
remaining side is bordered by a canal dug for the purpose of obtaining 
material for the levee. About three-fourths of the levee on this area 
is located on the solid banks of the bayous; consequently little, if any, 
seepage enters the district. Except a very narrow strip of solid day land 
along the bayous, the soil of this district is the usual prairie muck. The 
muck originally varied in thickness from i to 4 feet. Most of the surface 
was covered with the ordinary prairie grass. Except for a small eleva¬ 
tion of perhaps 2 feet along the bayous, the surface of the district is level 
and has an elevation of 1 foot or less above average water in the surround¬ 
ing bayous. The inside canals are quite extensive and are so spaced that 
the longest fidd ditch is but 2,000 feet in length. The storage capacity 
of the canals is about 0.60 inch. 
Ditching was started early in 1913, and by the end of the year nearly 
the whole area had been drained with ditches at a spacing of 220 feet. 
Pumping operations were started in February, 1913, and the record of 
operations was started on March 12. Except for a small amount of land 
along the bayou, no cultivation was done in 1913. Under average 
conditions the capatity of the pumping plant is 1.25 inches. 
Conditions during 1914.—During the year the district was all drained. 
The cutting of the field ditches was completed, and all canals were 
deaned and deepened. After the canals were deaned it was not neces¬ 
sary to run the plant on as many days as was formerly the case, since 
the water could be more completely taken out of all the canals and it was 
not necessary to stop the plant and wait for the water to flow to it. 
While three heavy rains occurred during the early part of the year, the 
ground was unusually dry in each case before the rain, so that no very 
heavy pumping was necessary; in fact, the plant was not operated at full 
capadty during the entire year. By the end of the year 200 or 300 acres 
of land were under cultivation. 
Conditions during 1915.—The entire area was wdl drained through¬ 
out the year. Very heavy rainfalls occurred in September and October, 
