Bradford County telegraph. (Starke, Fla.) 1888-current, 1910-08-26
PEOPLE ENDORSE DRAINAGE PROJECT.
InteI est Is NanIf esied In Enterprise
On Ar Sides.


in Bradford County that received so
much support from the beginning IS
that of creating o. drainage district Of
the territory drained by the Alligator
creek. Encouraging news of support
comes from all sides and next week. no
doubt, petitions will be circulated
among the landowners, asking them to
sign their names to q request to the
county commissioners to establish q
drainage district and acknowledging
their willingness to; be taxed to have the
work done. ..
The territory drained by the Alligator
is comparatively level, and while, in :
a few instances, part OF q msp's land
may have so good natural drainage as
to make ditchine unnecessary. the rest
Of his land is sure to need bitches, and
as long as there Can be a way provided
for direct outlet for drainage, no one has =.
a moral right to snjure his neighbor,
who lives on q Low 'er level, by flooding
his field with wat Pr from the higher.
land. The providing Of efficient outlet
for farm bitches W i'll lower the ground
water so that the;wster in the wells will,
during the rainy season, be vastly i'm
proved over what,it is now. This argues
that no farmer in ,the territory can con-
sistently say thyt drainage would not
benefit him.
1t was . long tlInel before our straw
berry growers recognized that irrigation
was desirable in Dry weather, but now
every one Of them would gladly accept
irrigation if he could have it on such
easy terms as he may lhave drainage.
Yet he can manage tp do without irriga-
ton. But when it has raired so long
till the bitches on th$ highest lands can
not carry away THO water; when prom
ising crops that the farmer may have
mortgaged his pre- iheIty for in order to
bring them to maturity, rot on the
ground; when the doing of necessary
work is made impossible; when the
roads are almost iIDpaSsable and the wa
ter in the wells rises to the surface, con-
taminsted by the filth of the surround
lngs, pregnant with disease germs, not
to mention increased shoe bills and all
the discomforts Cat accompany con-
slant stopping in sDsRd and water, then
no one will deny thrt a thorough system
Of drainage is crying necessity.
Canslizing Alieas4r creek and its
br&ncn and digging secondary receiv-
ing bitches wherN She natural water
courses are too far away will, of course,
be costly, but many years will be given
to pay it in and the, farmers will only
carry part Of the brrd bn. The Seaboard
with its Wannee brSBch traverses the
entire drainage district with about eight
miles OF track, and fpr the welfare Of
the road bed and the Increased hauIage
Of freight attendant efon good drainage
the company will, no doubt, ungrudg-
ingly contribute its quota Of the ex-
pens's. Considering She Improvement
to the several roada pow damaged by
overflow, Bradford 9county is in duty
bound TO contribute to the drainage
fund. The town of, Starke would be
, greatly benefited by tile lowering of Al
Iigstor creek, and as It sends an i'm
mense volume Of Vaqer into the creek
our citizens should lie friendly to the
project. The time will come when they
get tired of having SOME cross-eyed man
with hoe tickle the Cutters occasional.
ly, trying to make tha water run up hill
S but will substitute C$pscious cutters
i dug according to grade set by a compe-
Y tent man; nay, even 81 system CT pipe
sewers is within tie possibilities. and
d then, to get the necessary fall, the low,
G ering of the creek woHl& have to lie eff
It fected at the towns. OWN expense, IN
X less the citizens joic IN the drainage
n scheme which is now ID ing agitated.
i As far as can be seen without instru
|. mental leveling. the lhy of the land /,
g such that, by cnnaliZing the north arm
b of the Alligator beyond its head as fal
il as to the Water Oak, 4be latter would
d also be lowered all the Say TO its head
and thereby effect the rbclaiming from
overflow large tracts of rich land now
almost vslueless. By Interesting the
a owners of these lands IN Fhe project, the
e district might be enlarged and the cost
! of the drainage work be divided between
n q larger number Of tax payers.
y Our next article will heat of the sub
g ject of the inevitable good objects Of
thorough drainage. {