Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-01-16

These are coarse sandy soils
too far from standing water in
the ground to reproductive with
the large rainfall of that country.
The lands they are tilling are
those which lie very near or below
sea level and require drainage.
So, too, the high sandy lands
wherever l saw them, whether in
Germany, Holland, Belgium,
England Or Scotland, are to-day
largely unreclaimed and unculti-
waited unless irrigated.
These facts make me feel very
confident that it will be a great
mistake to do anything which
tends greatly to lower the gen
eral level of the ground water
under these sandy lands. 1t is
irrigation which they needrather
than general drainage.
OUGHT CRANBERRY CULTURE TO
BE COMBINED WITH GENERAL
FARMING?
Now the facts and conditions
which have been presented make
me feel that instead of abandon
ing cranberry culture altogether
a 1ud1ciOus partition of the land
ought perhaps to be made and
cranberries grown not for them
selves alone but because they are
a valuable crop which can be
grown on lands which need to be
kept too wet for other crops for
the sake of holding the general
water level to the proper height
beneath the border and semi
marsh lands which must other
wise become largely unproduc-
tive.
But cranberry culture cannot
he made productive on these
marsh lands unless more water
is supplied than is likely to be
available through the local rain
fall. Is there any available water
which can be used in cranberry
culture and indirectly be made to
he'll make semi-marsh lands more
productive?
POSSIBLE WATER SUPPLIES.
1t will require a much more eX-
tended study of this region and
its surroundings than | have
thus far been able to give it
before a full measure Of the avail
able water can be stated. | wish,
however, to point out here the
possible supplies without at
tempting to give definite express
sion to their magnitude.
The available water supply for
the marsh and semi-marsh lands
of Adams, Portage, Wood, Jack
son, Monroe and Juneau count
les belong to three classes. These
l wish to consider briefly III the
order of their probable magni-
tude, considering the smaller
supply first.
UTILIZATION OF THE LOCAL
STORM WATERS.
The smallest supply that could
be used for cranberry culture is
the storm water. | see no rea-
son to suppose that the marshes
which at this particular time are
barely dry enough to plow will
not require drainage just ssoon
as an increased rainfall shall
occur.
Now in laying out the drainage
systems for these marsh lands it
seems to me that before open
bitches are dug, which shall lead
the storm water directly into the
water ways, conveying them
permanently out Of the region,
we should first consider the feas-
Utility of storing these excess
waters in local reservoirs to be
utilized in maintaining cranberry
and perhaps other gardens.
To make my idea OF the utiliza-
ton of these waters definite let
me assume that | have 100 acres
in which one fourth of the whole
area requires drainage in order
to make it productive. Then
reserve two, three or more acres
IN the lowest part of the farm
upon which a reservoir shall be
built and to which the drainage
bitches of the whole farm shall
be led and into which by means
Of pumps driven by wind or other
power the water shall be lifted
and stored for utilization in the
production Of cranberry, celery
Or any other desirable crop. 1t
is impossible with any available
data to say now how large a
reservoir would be needed to hold
the drainage water from the