Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1886-11-26

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No9enber.

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November.
Theriee lands d the Atlantic So
bard Occupy the deltna 81 TIE rivers
from Pszlieo Sound, u Norih Caro-
llina. q TIE ST. MArys River. In
Genrgfa They are confined In every
ins,ance % he frash tide-WateZ. the
tidal Gov being neceasary Tor inun-
dasi0u, and he water. Of course
must Be fFse from saik
These narrow river strips eoose-
louenslv extend from the extrene
llimff of brackIsh water 70 the ex-
irene limit Of available fide-wAser, 2
distance varying with the volume
and location Of the rivers. They are
lpaEe aIluviun IN formation, and All
very similar il character. The soil.
in many cases, d ten, twenty, or
! even thirty feet Ia depth 70 the under
hing stratum az sand Often the re-
mains Of prosfT4le forests, the result
Of ancient hurricanes, with layers 81
ashes and Indian remains, lie barred
| IN this aliuvium, the logs and stumps
. | frequently 30 near the surface as 20
present serious obstacle 70 me
! diteher, and greatly enhancing the
cost Of reclamation This must have
been excessive. and only under the
, thorough discipline and economy OF
! slave labor was It Il ell possible As
t, 3 proof Of this. on the whole Atlantic
. coast not enc new rice plantation has
J lbeen established since The war; on the
: lOther hand, many have been aban-
!. ldoned.
The rice lands. being practically
on . level with the sea. or elevated q
few inches above IL, are, Of course.
like the salt marshes, subject TO tidal
loverfOW. Therefore is Is necessary
10 surround every plantation, unless
] joining banks with q neighbOr, with
an exterior embankment This must
be sufficiently high and strong 70 re
sist the encroachments Of spring
tides and ordinary storms, and i
8 generally constructed about i've feel
high, with q base Of ten feet and 8
width on top Of four feet. Even with
this protection II is impossible 70 pre-
vent extraordinary storm foods from
sweeping over the plantation. IS they
have been known to rise twelve feel
= above low water mark, or about si1
feet still water level over the fields.
Taking an illustrative plantation OF
n six hundred and forty acres or one
U square mile for easy calculation. 4
viii be found that the exterior cru
l. bankment is four miles In length, and
.. the interior entertainments, along thu
n canals and those used for rOadways
10 IS seen in the chart, about SIX mile
Q. more. The plantation Is subdivideC
i into lesser embankments. called
"A /" check banks, into fields o.
I'd squares" whose areas differ accord
ing 70 the character of the ground
Generally. the more irregular til
surface the smaller the squares, SOM
containing as much Is thirty-tive o
= forty acres, others as few IS i've o.
six. They viii average, however
seventeen or eighteen acres each
This adds In check banks . furthe
n length Of eight miles. making III
- gross length Of the embankmen
eighteen miles, wits gross solid con
- tents OF one hundred and clever
thousand and seventy. nine cubii
i yards. or one hundred and seventy
10 four cubic yards to the acre.
But the original cost Of the EN-
bankment Is greatly exceeded by tina
- of the necessary drainage.
Colonel Screven, who IL probably
the best authority on rice In tn
South, says; 1.-THE drainage Of tn
Tice-helds and its annual mainteu
ance Is q servitude more burden
some than their entertainments. Il Is
however, also true, while the nc
plant of the tidal lands Is aquatic
or perhaps, more correctly, amphibi
GUS, il Is paradoxical In demanding
the most thorough drainage for il
successful growth. The drains i'm
peratively require to be not onl,
thoroughly excavated in the origin
but 70 be constantly kept down 4
q its original depth. and, as the LIANT
NJ settles, to be lowered TO the sam
relative depth.
"a properly arranged plantation
Of six hundred and forty acres, look
ing to the best control of foWinl
water and OF thorough drainage
would require four parallel canals
each i've feet in depth and twent,
feet In width. The total length o
these would be three and one thirv
miles. Each would require q flood
gate at It's extremity on the river, 81
arraDged as TO admit or bar tide
water a. pleasure. Along these canals
one on each side Of the field or twl
>, to the field, are laid small food gate
commonly called 'trunks, by whicl
90 the watering and drainage Of eacl
40 field Is Independently regulated. lib
W main food gates Of the canal are fire.
90 quently true lscks, 30 that canal an,
M river navigation may be united. Th
w four canals mentioned call for an ex
90 cavation Of fOrty-eight thousan,
M eight hundred and eighty-nine cubi
W yards, or seventy-six cubic yards pc
% acre.
A in addition 10 these canals, whicI
" are the great arteries OF the rice
90 fields, each square or field must b
surrounded BY q main or maFgiI
ditch cut six feet wide by four feet Il
depth generally about fifteen o
Twenty feet OF from the check bank
leaving . cnltivatable margin be
tween ditch and bank al around ID,
square" and parallel drains, calleS
quarter drains must be sunl
- through the fields one and q half 4
two feet In width 10 three feet Il
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