The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-05-05
THE DRAINAGE OF LAND.
A South Texas Farmer Has introduced
Methods Of Older States.
SAYS DRAINAGE is THE ONE THING NEEDED
and TILES Are Used to Carry
on the Surface water.


The question OF drainage is one with
. which the farmers and truck growers.
large and small of the Texas coast coun-
try have had to contend since the frat
farmer or truck grower stuck his pillow in
J the lowlands OF Texas adjacent 20 the
Gulf OF Mexico. Nature had brushed aside
other questions--questions of rainfall, soil,
} climate and nearness to market--but the
question Of proper drainage remained and
still remains to vex the honest tille- OF
J the soil who seeks TO draw his sustenanoe
from mother earth. Some have 'red TO
ignore the question; others have ,empor
. lied with it. and others have given it up,
! not knowing how to answer It, With ex-
ceptionally fertile soil. capable OF pro-
; ducing great variety OF crops; with cl-
mate rarely equalled in any farming dis
trict. and with sufficient rain to germi-
; nate and grow the seed the South Texas
farmer and the truck grower have had by
, reason of the generally fat condition of
the land, to cope with the obstacle OF i'm
proper drainage.
In Texas, where lands have hitherto
been cheap and very plentiful. little he's
been thought of practical drainage as
practioed in the older and more densely
/ I populated States. In fact, fertilizers,
drainage and other valuable adjuncts of
= farm work in the older States have UP to
the present been little used in Texas. The
farmer who had a piece OF land too nat
to drain itself has let 1t remain unculu-
waited, using some more favored trlct, and
, the farmer who had tract of poor land
If fartlliyinp
cultivation some richer tractor the
1 very bigness of the State has scented TO
make 1t unnecessary for the farmer to
3 cultivate an unproductive or badly drained
] tract Of land. when perhaps in another
quarter OF his broad acres he had plenty
e of land that was both productive and
reasonably well drained.
! In the older States, however where I'M
: occupied lands are scarce and correspond
ingly high priced drainage, fertilzng add
other aids to production have been thor
a oughly studied and extensively practice1,
. but until very recently none of thesa
s methods had found their way into the
9 coast country. However, Mr.. c. l., Rob-
u erts, a gentleman who has seen drainage
as it is done in several Of the older States,
a Is giving II a trial in the coast country
u and with the most sanguine hopes for sue
Y cess. In fact, Mr.. Roberts has such great
q faith in proper drainage being OF in
l. caculable benefit to the coast country that
d he is putting his ideas into practical exc
II cution and showing his faith by his works.
~
MIR. Roberts came to the Texas coast
from the snow-swept plains of Minnesota,
l. where the farmer must stake his all on
;, one crop-wheat-and he thinks he has
II found in the coast lands just what he
10 wants-proyided he can properly drain his
IA.
At below the town OF Seabrook. ON the Gall
weston Houston and Northern railway,
Is built a comfortable home ana proceeded
TO stock a portion of his land with FRUIT
1t trees strawberries and other small fruits,
with the intention of later planting some
,r field crops. Like many others however,
he found that nearly all OF his land fell
"a short Of its full producing power by reason
OF deficient drainage, After studying the
Of question for about two years-the time he
has been on his present locaton-he con-
is cluded that the way to drain was to drain.
Accordingly he set about draining. He
re had no faith In the open ditch, but ha
great belief in the success of system q
& tile drainage, such as is used in the A..
lands of Illinois, Ohio and other states
t. He investigated the cost OF tiles. figured
is on the cost of eXcavating, and put in a
small quantity OF tiles on a garden patch
~ doing tho eXcavatng by hand
c. so satisfactory We're the results tha,
Mr.. Roberts had then and there settled
o. the question OF drainage so far as he was
Ut concerned. He thea cast about for mure
convenient and cheaper way to put in his
m tiles. He correspondent with the inven toi
rs OF steam ditching machine, and as re-
suit OF his correspondence he bought one
OF of the machines and had IL delivered at
lis his place He set It to work day or two
nc ago, and he was so we'll pleased with the
y result that he invited all who were inter
% ested In the question OF drainage to call
aud see his ditching machine work.
II was on this invitation that Colonel
John Howard Of the Southern Paciflc'S
immigration bureau. Mr.. 7. W Smith, Mr.
he t. II, Palmer both interested in coss
lands and immigration, accompanied by q
a Post representative, went down to Mr.
ne Roberts place yesterday to witness his
Us dtcher in operation and learn something
on about drainage by the use OF tiles The
N, ditcher was putting away when the party
nd arrived, throwing the dirt like a gigantic
IN mole and leaving in its track clean Gu
ANA symmetrical ditch a loot wide ant
Us three and ore-half feet in depth. with ;
rounded bottom. The machine is rathe
It, simple in construction and is operated h,
rn traction engine equipped with an eight
er horse power boiler Without any attemp
IL 10 describe the mechanism OF the ma n ne
il may be said that It does the work b,
ct. iHetNS OF system OF revolving buckets
up gsared to a large wheel. The buckets ar,
ITS equipped with knives and the dirt the.
se bring up is dumped or conyeyer an,
les dropped on one side of the ditch TIL,
lat ditcher is moved along by the Traction
in engine and makes the ditch complete Il
" one trip, cutting II foot wide and from
We twenty inches to four and ue-half fee
IN depth, as desired and making per 'eo
ed grade IL was working under adverse cir
,le cumstanees yesterday morning. the groun,
at being so soft that the wheels OF the trac
In tlon engine sank almost TO the hogglnl
| point, but with this to contend with III
is machine was moving along at the speel o
,al ftty-hye yards an hour. The ditch Of
I which II was working was about two an
Ssh one-half feet deep at the starting poin
ee and VIII be little more than four fee
~ daan tNhera n annilns into n s.nnn In ,