The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1907-11-14
100000 ACRES
GAN Be RECLAIMED
Department of Agriculture
Drainage investigation
Shows Vast Tracts.

Washington, Special: That the drain
nge and reclamation of the swamp
lands of the United States means q
vast deal to the economic welfare OF
the country is portrayed in striking
fashion in q report on h subject by
J.. q. Wright. supervising drainage en-
gineer connected with irrigation ana
drainage Investigations for the depart
/ ment OF agriculture. Mr.. Wright, aft
er a careful canvass of the swamp and
overfiowed, has found that east of the
Rocky mountains there are W,BOO,GVu
acres hat can be reclaimed and made
fit for civilization.
Were these 1900. 600 acres of swamp
and overlooked lam drained and made
healthful and fit for agriculture and
divided into forty-acre farms, homes
would be provided for 1926, 900 families,
Swamp lands, when drained, Mr..
Wright points out, are extremely FER
tile, requiring but little commercial FER
tilizer and yielding abundant crops.
They are adapted to the growth or u
wide range of products and in most in
stances are convenient to good markets
MI. Wright says that while an income
OF SIS to $40 per acre In the grain pro-
ducing, states of the middle west Is
considered profitable. ,nlGch of the
! swamp lands in the east and south
"S9tuy - ~ avn 80
1 celery, tomatoes and other vegetables,
Yield 4 net income Of over 500 per
acre. "-
But additional TO immediate benefits.
other benefits are pointed out that
would follow reclamation. The axabl
value of the commonwealth would be
permanently increased, the healthful-
ness of the community would be i'm
proved, mosquitoes and malaria would
be banished and h construction of
good roads made possible. Factories.
churches and schools would open up.
and instead Of active young farmers
from the Mississippi valley emigFating
to Canada to seek cheap lands they
could n better homes within h bOr-
ders Of the United States.
Holland says the report, two
fifths of which lies below the level Of
the sea, has been reclaimed by diking
and draining and now supports a pop
ulation OF $50 per square mile. Her soil
is no better than the marshes OF this
country, and her climate not 50 good
as that OF the southern states, yet we
have within OUT border an undeveloped
empire ten times her area.
/ There Is no good reason why this
condition should longer continue and
It Is TO be hoped the American people
Will soon take steps to abate this nuis-
ance and make these lands contribute
to the support and upbuilding OF the
nation"
If the swamp lands of the United
' States east of the Rockies were col
lected into one body, says Mr.. WTight's
report, they would make an empire as
large as England, Ireland, Scotland and
Wales. III placed in the eastern part
OF the United States, they would owe
the six New England stastes. New York
u the northern half Of New Jersey.
They would make a strip 1J3 miles wide,
reaching from New York to Chicago.
Mr.. Wright's report is q strong argu-
ment for adequate legislation to bring
about the drainage of the swamp hands
that can be reclaimed. He sees no en-
gineering obstacles Of a serious sort to
the retaining of the n, 900, 900 acres al
luded to-. Not only does he point to
the example OF Holland, but to that of
l England as well. England. he says.
probably has more laws on her statute
books stating to drainage hi any
other country. Great difficulties have
been overcome I'm draining the fens OF
England and Mr.. Wright declares It
would be a reflection on the skill and
intelligence OF the American engineers
to proclaim the drainage Of American
, swamp lands impossible. He saws that
long the Atlantic sufficient work
has been done to indicate that the vast
extent OF salt marsh reaching from
Maine to Florida can by proper meth
! d be won to agriculture and when
reclaimed the soils are especially
adapted to market gardening.
! Figures are presented to show il win
pay to drain the lands IN question. The
report calculates that this lands would
be worth on an average $50 per acre
If drained or, a total of s. 1920, 900, 600.
' Allowing $1,771, 900, 900 for value Of the
land undrained and cost OF draining
and a,net increase in vahe is shown or
$2,S49, DOC. 900, or not far from 49, 0O,-
900, 900.
Mr.. Wright does not go into the sub,
1ect OF whether congress should underI
take by federal legislation the reclama-i
ton OF some OF the vast swamp lands
areas. He contents himself with point
ing the need of drainage and critiL
cising some OF the state la VS. dealing
with the subject as crude and ~inopera1
tive, though giving credit to others as
effective. He shows hat of the swamp
lands claimed by the states up to June,
80. 1906, a total acreage of over SO, 900
600, three-F1orida, Arkansas ana
Lo'ifsiana-have received half the lands
granted by, h government swans
lands acts, while the other half MAJ
been distributed among twelve states
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa. Michigan. Mia
nesota, Missouri and Wisconsin receiv-
Ing most OF It, ,