The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-03-30
-. v,ue Land. into Cultivation.

: ), oounty and State who own lands OF
'ne ~ and rivers that are lying out and ar.
u' lilly worthless for want Of drainage
I,1 hay. formed an association for the
'n.. osa Of draining their bottom lands and
Pnr;nr them into cultivation. Several o.
v'' .,omh,;s of the association are citizen:
w =, ,his city, and all the members are mer
" :, n,s,ns and are determined to bring these
ID into cultivation, If such thing is
a.s;ble .a~ The progenitor of the enterprise
!. nnblic spirited man and is always found
:, hearty accord with every movement that
- s.s for its object the development of our
s,r,,v's resources. 1t was to this gentle
,.n that our Local went for information
.s,,,,ug the enterprise, and we give his
.ru statements, as near as possible, in reply
TO bis questions.
81 understand that you are one OF num-
to- Of gentlemen who have undertaken to
d,o;n the Rocky river and Beaverdam creek
bottoms, and would be glad to have some
;Dforma!ion concerning the project"
YES. we organized as early as August
,,, what We call the "Rocky River and
peaverdams Drainage Company 1t is
composed of about fifteen gentlemen, one
of whom is colorcd man, and all owners
If ho:tom land, on these streams, and it is
our intention to dry these lands by cutting
canals wherever necessary to straighten the
streams. BY thorough ditching and by keep
;ne channels of the streams cleared of all
rubbish, logs &c"
How far do your lines extend, and how
much land will be brought into cultiva-
ton provided you succeed?"
There is no question about our succeed
ing in draining the lands; the good results
Of the work already done satisfy us oil on
this point. Our lands extend from the
lower line of Mr.. w. d. Watson's land
up Rocky river to the confluence of Big
and Little Beaverdam creeks, about six
miles, and from thence up both of the
creeks distance of about two miles. The
bottoms are wide for The greater part Of the
distance, and l think it safe to say that
there are net less than one thousand acres
Of them"
"You speak of having already done some
work on the streams; what was the char
acter of that work?"
Some of us did small amount of work
carly last fall, such as clearing the streams
Of whatever logs, &C., that might obstruct
The free passage Of sand. am satisfied that
my bottoms, and have about 100 ceres,
we're benefited very much by even this
small amount of work, although it cost ME
over one hundred dollars. One reason why
there ore such large quantities of fine bot
tom lands that are now worthless in the
country Is simply because the streams on
Ehich they lie are not kept cleaned out.
The bushes are allowed to grow right on
The edges Of the streams, trees fall into
lhem and there lie for years, and in many
Eases it is the custom when grubbing the
cultivated bottoms in the spring to pile
into the creek to save the trou-
bic Of burning it. Our streams arc not
naturally sluggish, and if kept clear of all
obs!!uctions the natural fall would give the
water sufficient force to carry off the sand
lnd keep the channel deep aud clear"
What do you think will be the cost of
lraining the thousand acres, including what
has already been expended? ?"
"Ofcourse we cannot tell exactly what it
Fill be, but my estimate is $3.50 per acre,
IN an average, or S1,500 for the whole lob.
Some parts of the bottoms will be harder
p drain than others, and consequently
ome OF us will have to pay out more than
lthers will'
Then each man pays for the work done
IN his OWL land? ?"
Certainly; except where extra work is
Necessary to increase the fall. No other
plan would be just and equitable"
Does each man superintend the work
IN his own land?"
Not exactly. The Association el ected a
superintendent al its first meeting who is
ntrused with the work. He received
z DAY for every day actually engaged,
nd was authorized to employ not more than
we've hands at not more than one dollar a
~ each. OF course the landowner has a
as'so in all that is done OH his own land,
u1 the superintendent has The general di-
ection of the work. He is O practical man
nd knows his business
Wien will you begin the work of ditch
ng?"
his week. The necessary tools have
lready been purchased, and the first work
VII oe the cutting Of canal some 125 OF lSO
:, Gus long beginning below Bailey's bridge.
'e nope TO get enough of the work done
us spring to sufficiently dry large Sec
o's ior cultivation this year."
VIII you not have to clear great deal
II OF heavy timber?''
Yes, but then there is large amount of
mat will be easily cleared, as the growth
q low and scrubby, and will not be diff
nlt to get rid off,
presume you will plant corn?'
VI course; and we mean to make enough
, = .ne thousand acres to supply the whole
|. !, anderson county and half the State he
"s'. lhese lands are the richest in the
LILY o,.' ana when put in a proper state of
a""a'lon will make from fifty to
..e"'y-hve bushels or corn per acre. OF
~ ,a>e we don. ezpec. any such yield as
80 40 'he hrst year, but the first crop will
ouble." ~ $50"
"hy Is it that the owners Of these lands
ave r',: not before this brought them into cul-
SIMPLY because they have considered it
, t,a''icaole, ~ without properly looking in
s"e matter. For my own part, have
20 , oeeh convinced that these bottoms
, M oe drained, and Inst year succeeded
s"',s',nB the cooperation of the other
,s,. s''.'ed parties in q common effort TO ac-
'p'iSh the work. Heretofore there have