New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-10-01

ton The low lands extend for nearly forty
miles i'm width along its course and these 1t
has been i'm the habit of overlooking every win
ter sometimes thereby creating great inland
sea thirty or forty miles in breadth. with am
alrnos, unhrokcn sweep Of a hundred miles in
the down stream direction. Before the river
floods the low country it viii rise nearly TWEEN
ty-throo feet in Sacramento. city OF perhaps
fifty thousand inhabitants which is protected
from the floods by high bikes. which neverthc-
Jess do not guard il without menace from eX-
traordinary rises.
Through prccipitatng silt during its frequent
periods of ordinary rise the river has built
up it's banks To height Of fifteen or more feet
above the adjacent country. and so flows upon
d plane higher than the region through which
II passes In flood time it spreads over its
banks i'm many places. and runs down into the
adjacent sweeps of land on each side. In times
when it does not make a sea Of the whole coun-
try it creates great lakes separated from each
other by ridges Sometimes these ridges
crevasse. permitting the water from the lakes
above 10 flow into them. and again they remain
firm and hold the water until it eyaporates
through the summer heat
In some parts Of its course the river divides
around large tracts of land. forming islands Of
them. Efforts have been made to reclaim
many Of these areas by constructing leyces
against the winter waters. and experimenting
these with extensive pumping plants. which re-
move the seepagc and rainWatcr from the lands
as fast as they collect lifting the water into the
river In this manner perhaps hfty thousand
acres have been reclaimed. leaving about one
hundred and twenty thousand acres of the island
lands vet possible Of reclamation ON many OF
these tracts much money is now being spent IN
the work Of redemption. 1t IS estimated that In
all about SIS 600 600 has been expended I'D the
boftom largely with the Wow ~ bringing these
lands under control
EXCEEDINGLY FERTILE
The lands when redeemed are exceedingly fer
tue Tho soil is about thirty feet deep ana
consists If decayod vegetation. being "a compost
NJ tubes and aquatic plants Prodiei"uS crops
GROW upon it and are planted in close success
sion 49, m. tract Is frostless and the climate
such as conduces To- the continuous sI""'" ~
~,o,o,ion Experience has shown. however
that the safety of any ~ these farms "'p''''
,,,,, the giving way Of the bikes "f some tract
ouposite under pressure oi winter "'''o 90
.,.l... 10 NOT room enough between for the floods
la rqN without one Sft 'i
The reason Why go much money has bee" spent
,nor Enforcement in the past without results
,hi.h would insure the lands against the river
ie that the money has been put upon the l"hdS
and not upon the river
Individua. capitalists. reclamation companies
and reclamation districts the latter formed
uncor special acts # me Legislature. have
severalIv undertaken 10 defend parcels Of the
! land against the river and bring them under
! cultivation. Each worked with regard 10 It's
own interests alone and to secure his or IT'S own
! lands without considering the need Of any sys-
, tenn which would control the river whereby all
: lands would be preserved. or realizing the i'm
possibility Of substantial results from piecemeal
efforts In consequence Of this procedure me
tracts having the strongest dikes have been
Preserved while weaker bikes have been
preached and the hundreds Of thousands II
dollars which their construction cost was worse
than wasted.
After some years ~ this sort of expenditure
! and experience n came To be generally recog-
| nized on the river that some system looking IN
| the control Of the entire stream would have u
| 1c adopted and that this control must be Of a
character which could be maintained at ell sea