The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-07-29
CONTROL RIVER.
Planting Advised by Govern
ment Bureau of Forestry.
Last Years Loss Was Over
Twenty Million Dollars.

Washington, D. c., July 29.-The
Kansas river floods have called new
attention to the methods recently adj
vocated by the bureau of forestry for
controlling the course of the stream
| and for repairing the damage to in
undated farm lands. The high water
mark this summer is ten feet lower
than that of last season, nor is the
property loss comparable to that of
year ago, when the damage wrought
exceeded $20,000,000 and when over
100 lives were sacrificed. But in
permanent injury to the productive
capacity of the region it may well be
that the river has delivered a second
blow as serious as was the first. The
food of 1903 was the greatest since
1914. Until a year ago the valley of
the Kaw was as fertile as any on this
continent. For centuries the strips of
woodland along the banks of the
river bed impeded the rush of over
flows, and the silt that built up the
rich land had been precipitated. But
under agriculture the trees were
gradually cut down, in many cases
right to the waters edge. The result
was inevitable. In it's natural course
the river runs rather slowly and with
many windings through its fiat
meadows. But when it overfiowed.
the water swept straight down the
valley. Unimpeded by trees, it in
creased it's velocity, in some places
cutting for itself new channels, and
for almost the whole 120 miles of the
valley not only deeply eroded the
river banks but played havoc with the
valuable farm lands. In some places
the rich soil was cut away to the bar
rem sands or gravels; in others coarse
sand was laid six and eight feet deep
over the fields; in still other places
great holes were gouged out and
lakes formed, acres in extent OF
the 100000 acres of remarkably fer
tile lands, worth from 500 to $3.50
an acre, which the valley contained,
10000 acres were completely de-
stroyed for agricultural purposes, TO-
900 acres more were damaged so per
cent. of their value, and the whole
area was greatly deprecated in value
owing to the general sense of uncer-
tainty as to the future That these
fears for the future were we'll found
ed the repetition of the disaster
makes sufficiently plain.
But the condition of the citizens of
the valley is far from hopeless if they
will put into active and general oper- |
alton plans for the protection and
reclamation of their lands. The bu-
reau of forestry has devised systems
of tree planting for the river banks,
the sand covered lands, and the deep
ly eroded lands. The object of the
first is to prevent washing of the
banks, to protect the whole area from |
the full force of floods, and in time
of overflow to check the tendency |
to gully and cut new channels. The |
last two systems of planting are for |
ultimately retaining the new de- |
stroyed lands. and make them pro-
duce, in the meantime, valuable |
wood product while the work of |
reclamation is going on.
The Sanded lands are now useless for |
crops, but will grow cottonwood, which |
twenty years hence will make valuable |
sawlogs In the meantime the trees will |
be retaining the land for field crops |
This they will do partly by the fertiliZing |
effect of the decaying forest litter. But |
should the flood waters return again, the |
timber would very likely be in a position /
to render much greater service. Exam |
nation of the area affected a year ago |
shows strikingly that where protective |
growthS of cottonwood checked the rush |
of the current the land beyond was gen |
orally covered not with sand but with |
silt, and is often if anything more fertile |
than before. With extensive planting Of
forest trees another flood would undoubt- |
eddy bring back at once to fertility much |
of the land which has now been made |
barren.
The lower part of the Kansas valley I
was devoted chiefly to the production of
potatoes. Crops of 800 to 400 bushels |
per acre were not uncommon before the
flood. Thousands of acres of potato
fields were buried to feet beneath
to abandon much of this land. OF LOO |
acres of once valuable sweet potato land
in one body near Wamego, Kan, only |
50 acres were cultivated last year after /
the food and this is probably all that
will be fit to cultivate for many years to
come.
The bureau of forestry is now sending to
sraphed circular of recommendations for