Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-06-03
Even the Best Drainage Systems
Insufficient to Cope With
Surplus Moisture
MUCH LARGER TILE is NEEDED
That Which Has Been Used Will Be
Taken Up and RepIaced-Farm
Owners Putting Money Into Drain
age as Fast as Men Can Be Sc
cured to Do the Work.
Special to Times-Republican.


third the pillow area Of the county sub
merged, or so wet that the crops are
more or less badly damaged, the real
ization has been forced upon the far
mers and land owners of Webster and
other counties of the state, where like
conditions prevail, that practically all
of the work thus far carried on to-
ward thing the wet lands, has been
in a great measure futile, and must be
done over. Even the best of the drain
age systems have been insufficient to
cope with the surplus moisture, and
for ten days water has been stand
ing one to three feet deep on some
Of the most fertile fields of the state.
drainage development, which was
reached in Illinois fifteen to twenty
years ago. While there is tile on most
of the farms Of the state, in practically
every instance, the systems are entire
ly inadequate to the needs. They
have improved general conditions, but
to be really efficient, all must be
greatly changed. Instead IF on proper
advice, the thing of the state has been
done with no knowledge at all of the
real needs. The mains are invariably
too small to quickly handle the water
and clear the fields, and the branches
are CORRESPONDENCE inadequate, both
in number and size. In most instances,
according to experts, the tile is not
more than half as large as the needs
demand. In all cases, larger tile must
be put in to handle the water with
the facility desirable.
The thing, up to the present time,
has done little for the really low land,
so far as making it tillable is con-
cerned. 1t has increased the working
and yielding value Of the higher lands
and medium levels, but this is adj
mittedly all that has been accom-
plished.
From this time, the demand for tile
in the larger sizes must increase. The
tile that has been used for mains will
be taken up, and much larger tile
must then be used for the mains. In
Illinois and other states east, the same
mistake was made as in Iowa. AS soon
as the conditions were recognized, the
work of constructing the drainage sys-
TENS was begun without delay. The
same action will be taken here.
The demand for tile in Iowa has but
barely commenced, according to au-
thorities. There will be more drainage
work in the next few years, than h
all the time since the first tile was
laid in the state. In three years,
since the passage of the drainage laws
by the state legislature, hundreds of
thousands Of dollars have been ex-
pended in all sections of Iowa in large
drainage bitches, forming for the first
time, outlets for tile drainage in the
fatter territories. Here the work Of
tile ditching has just begun.
The rapid and steady increase in
land values, and the several wet sea-
past few years, have forced the i'm
portance of drainage on land owner in
all sections, and the work will be car
ried on with ever increasing vigor till
the last of the swamp lands have dis
appeared from Iowa.
The earnestness Of the farm own
ers in this direction is evidenced in the
fact that all the more progressive men
are borrowing money where 1t Is nee
essary for them to borrow, and this
money is being put into drainage work
as rapidly as men can be secured to
do the work. In Webster county alone,
during the past three years. it is esti-
mated that as much as $4,000 acres
have been added to the pillow land and
in most of the other fiat counties an
equal or greater gain has been made
in crop area