The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1906-03-28


cedcd Indian lands and private lands
may be included in any drainage pro-
ject, but in each case the cos, of the
drainage improvement is to be borne
by the owner Of the land and no set
tier can have drainage provided for
NOR than 1G0 acres, thus insuring
the division Of the tracts into small
farms which must be actually settled
upon and titled.
DRAINAGE WORK ALREADY in PRO.
GKESS
This work the Reclamation Service
is qualified to do at this very moment.
While primarily an engineering bu.
rcau it has, in ell its great irrigation
projects, to deal directly with the
farmer. It must outline q compre-
hensive drainage system for each ir-
rigation project, since there is as
much danger from too much irrigation
as too little, and to do this the ser.
vice has its own farm aud soil experts.
Some Of the irrigation projects have
distinctively drainage features, in
fact are almost as much drainage as
they are irrigation projects. In the
klamath project 10000 acres, or
more than half Of the area Of the total
project, is rich tule land covered by
eight OF ten feet Of water, and is to
be drained and converted into over q
thousand farms. Tho topographic
branch Of the Geological Survey, Of
which the Reclamation Service is also
a branch, has already run its lines
over many Of the great swamp areas of
the eastern States and as soon as the
Stccnerson bill becomes law the Geo
logical Survey engineers will be ready
to launch out into immediate activity
in drainage projects.
WOULD START WITH A MILLION DOL
LARS.
The fund provided by the bill would
be small as compared with the irri-
cation fund-it would approximate
half million dollars year and would
start off with about 1000, 900, the
receipts from the sales FOR the fiscal
gear 1905 being inoluded-but on the
other hand the cost Of drainage would
not be so great as that Of irrigs-
tion.
The importance of :h;s work Of
Wholesale drainage, in order to provide
homes for Increased population, is
scarcely second in importance to the
irrigation work. It means that tens
Of millions Of acres Of che most fertile
land imaginable, which hiss lain idle
for ages, may be converted from dis.
NAL and pestilential swamps and use.
less bogs into highly prosperous
homes, to become the garden spots of
the nation.
The Dutch have reclaimed vast
areas in Holland from. the encroach-
ments Of the ocean. Thousands CT
families live and farm below the sea
level, gaining their security by mag
nificent feats Of engineering and per-
sistenoe. They now contemplate the
drainage Of the Xuyder Zee, reclaim
ing some 1850, ,0C0 additional acres of
meadow land. American drainage in
most cases would ,be far more simple
and less expensive; it is simply a
question US IL whether taa5 a=.:oa ~=:!!
see the wisdom Of setting it's hand to
this work. .
ANOTHER INLAND EMPIRE.
In Florida the everglades alone
almost solid muck beds-would af-
ford an empire Of & some 1000, 900
acres; in New jersey and Virginia ore
vast swamps, among them the famous
DismallSwamp. In Illinois, which Is
generally regarded as q well.settled
agricultural State, there are 1000, 900
acres Of swamp land; in Michigan
there are nearly 6,00O,0 acres. Fer.
tile lowe has about 1000, 600 acres Of
swamp land.E In Minnesota there are
almost 5000, 600 acres of rich survey
ed swamp lands and LUCE areas not
yet surveyed.a Arkansas has tremen.
dous swamp areas which could be
drained and made habitable and in all
there is swamp area in tho eastern
half of the United States which is
equal in extent to the great agrioul.
tural States Of Indiana, Illinois and
lowe, with .lthree or four smaller cas-
tern States thrown in. - : -.
IF the Steeuerson bill demonstrates
that the government can transform
swamps into fertile farm land end
that the settler or owner will pay back
~ &ha frnva ~ ~ al, h a ssi >; ., -. ~