The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-02-10

S j III P1x11IIINN E KALI j i Lls
method of irrigating the lands. Prop
erty worth thousands Of dollars may b.
ruined in a few years and become utter
ly worthless.
"The Investigations point clearly Il
the natural methods of preventing thi,
injury and Of reclaiming the landl
when once the injury has occurred
There il no question that the injury il
due to the TRANSPORTATION and local &C
emulation Of the salts which were
formerly we'll distributed in the soils o.
the valley. Alkali has only been trou|
blesome here after eight or ten years Of
irrigation. The trouble is always pre-
coded by an accumulation Of seepagf
waters, followed in a few years by the
alkali demonstrations on the surface OF
the land. Where the damage has been
dona, or where the conditions are 50
imminent that ultimate ruin can be
foreseen, the logical method of recla-
nation is in providing adequate sys.
TENS Of drainage to carry off the excess
OF water and the accumulated salts
This is expensive, but it Is the only
thing in this case to hasten the slow
processes of nature, which are entirely
inadequate in the presence of the pres
ent methods Of irrigation and Of Gull
ture. Undertakings is expensive, but
it has amply repaid for the Investment
in other localities where land is worth
no more than in the Yellowstone val
ley. Any land which is worth $50 per
acre could we'll afford to be taxed for
undertakings if it is necessary, as in
many places in the Yellowstone valley.
to save the investment from utter M
Inhalation.
lin taking up new land in the Vel
lowstone valley the heavy gumbo soils
should be underdrained at the time the
first irrigation waters are applied to the
land. Even if the system Of under
drainage is not complete at the start, q
sufficient amount of it should be put in
to answer the purpose at the beginning,
and SO arranged that it can he extended
and more laterals put in as time goes
on and the necessity of it becomes APP
parent. 1t is too late to wait until til e
damage has been done, for the accumu +
lation of salts themselves acts OH the
heavy gumbo soils and makes them
more impervious to water and harder
subsequently, to drain. Great car
must be taken in the application Of
water. AS little as possible should be
applied at each time, SO that there shall
be as little water as possible to go off as
seepage water. The surface then should
be thoroughly cultivated, unless other
wise protected from evaporation by al
falfa or other close-growing crops, SO as
to reduce tile loss Of water from the
surface to a minimum and prevent
thereby the accumulation of salts at the
surface. The rise in the level of water
in wells must be looked upon with
uneasiness and guarded against with
great care. "
"The conditions in the Yellowston 9
valley are particularly simple, and the
danger from the rise of salts may be
easily controlled. These Investigations
show the cause of the trouble, the
actual conditions over a small section
of the valley, and point out the logical
methods of preventing trouble and Of
redeeming the land after the trouble
has come. The locality is fortunate
indeed in having no great excess Of al
kali in the soils previous to irrigation,
as occurs over such large areas in ad-
joining states. The question involve ed
is a simple problem, we'll within the
control Of the intelligent landowners Of
the valley"