Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1903-01-22
DRAINAGE.

BY combihlng tina ins racl rs
given b, C,l {; 70 Il Wariac,
Lew.s NJ H.,pt, aAd o'ha~s, IS u
the proper Gu 50 ~ pursue, when
the df.inage question is under
consideration, we have thu fol
lowing: "By local maps, study
the drainage Of the whole dis
tric', as revealed by s'rrams, vat
er-sheds, aud relative iDclinations
of surfaces. ThAn For each stream
determins the nature OF the out
let, Width, depth, velocity, Sop,
capacity, rAinf4ll, discharge, char
acter of the soil, deposits a d o.
what com posed; whether the river
is subj set tn ove1n ~, and if SO,
the several causes for the same,
slope, want of capacity, abnormal
rainfall and overlooking; whether
the valley is being built M by
dep ,sits from the OVERT NV of the
river, OF from the l.i,ls direct mp.
OF the valley, or by both, ard
which one pr dominating, etc.
"Ihe average rainfall i'm Mich.
igan. indiana, Illinois and Mis-
souri, is eb mt 30 inches In OHIO,
81 inches; ia Virginia, IS inches
in the Gulf states, 50 inches; in
Harrison Co.n'y, 1860 1885 3i
inches.
The soil of The Il ,ycr valley j.
a MIXTURE of loan aud clay easily
dissolve and rapidly cut away by
the action of wat Il. Laok at the
small stream in the bottom OF the
ouch of recent origin and then
look at the channels of the Boyer
and the Willow, and at the pres.
cnt rate of development, fix date
when each will have snflicit nj
capacity to prevent the hoodirg
of it's valley and the consequent
destruction OF crops.
Under Proclamation of Marsh
Lands" Col Geo r. Warng says
Marshes of tho character under
consideration are the result oil
causes due to the acti N of stand
ing water, either by means Of
sedimentation, by the accum ula-
ton of organic detritus, or both
Their improvement implies at the
outset the removal or the over
looming OF the causes which led t.
the ponding of tho water. Wheth
or this Is due to the inability o.
the upland waters or INLAND
streams to flow off completely, The
water causing mischief mus
either be prevented from invading
the land, or must be given free
means for flowing away from it
That is to say, the water of The
streams must be prevented from
Overlooking the land by the con
struction of proper barriers, or BY
improving the channel Of thu
river 80 as to keep it within it
banks during the floods"
J w Powell says: "Before thu
stream was lined with levees th,
Mississippi river overlooked it
banks at every considerable rise
Loaded with detritus, it suddenl,
.|spread over its banks to the di
mansions of an inland sea-" Gan
nett, 12l.
| Major Charles II Suter, in hi
report to congress upon the i'm
provement of the Missouri river
says: cat many points along tn,
river are found reaches of moder
ate length where the width is tor
small to allow the formation of
middle bar. At these places
often very narrow, the whole vol
ume of the water, even in floods
| fl ,ws in concentrated mass, the
direction of the current being
parallel to the banks. From th,
date of the earliest land survey
/ (lSl7) these places seem to hav'
remained almost unchanged. A
these places, as the river rises
the bed regularly deepens, and i
fills up again as the river falls
leaving the relative section un
changed. while the depth, even a
low water, is much greater than
the average"
| AT Spanish Moss Bend, on thf