The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-02-23
Benefits Of
Drainage.
BY John T. Stewart, Agricul-
turai Engineer.

:. turat Engineer. =.
+ + !. - + i !. \ i. j. !. !. i. i. :. i.
The. benefits accruing from drain
age are well illustrated in the improve
ment of small farm, of 1888 acres,
recently purchased by the state of
Minnesota. Six hundred and fifteen
dollars were spent in draining this
farm. The land had been bought by
the state for the specific purpose of
cultivation. The 1899 acres cost ST.
653.45 Out of this area there was
used for highway purposes, four acres;
nonrproductive land in sloughs, five
acres; ten acres, producing half a
crop, equal. in non-productive land, to
Aye acres, or a total of fourteen nom
tillable acres. This left tillable
area of ffty-nine acres, costing the
state $129.72 per acre. A system Of
Undertaking was introduced, by
which the five acres of non-productive
Land in sloughs, and the ten acres
which produced half crop, are made
equal in productive qualities to the
same area of the other tillable land.
The total cultivable area is thus in
creased from fifty-nine to sixty-nine
acres. The return to the farm, then,
Is $1,297.20, at cost of $615: or a
net gain Of $6S2.20. In other words,
ten additional acres has been added to
the farm, at cost of only s61.50 per
acre. against $129.72 per acre, paid
for tillable land in the original pur-
chase.
But this added value Of $682.20 does
not represent all the benefits which
have come to the farm from the intro
duction Of underdrafnage. The dis
appearance Of the sloughs, and Of the
superfuous water in other places. per-
nnits the division OF the land into regu-
lar. and therefore more easily culti-
vated fields. Such fields. having now
Z uniform soil. can be cultivated i'm
less time. and crop rotations can be
arranged to better advantage, than
where the land IL broken up by non
cultivable areas. A dry. loose soil
can be worked more easily than wet.
sticky soil
Furthermore, a field which in some
seasons is productive, and in others
non-productive by reason Of excessive
moisture, may be more detrimental to
the farmers success than swamp
land; for such lands are often plowed,
planted, cultivated, and then the crop
is destroyed by an influx of water;
whereby not only are they made non
productive, but labor and seed
are lost. Drainage not only
removes the risk of such losses,
but improves the landscape by
substituting broad, fully-cultivated
areas for such as are dotted with
sloughs. breeding frogs and mosqui-
toes and giving forth i'll odors from
dead fish and decaying vegetation. It
is first step in good bodybuilding;
and, as permanent improvement, it
increases the value of all neighbor-
ing lands, and benefits the entire
community.
All of these benefits are illustrated
in the case Of the state farm referred
to; and the management feels that
they fully justify the cost of the inn
provement without considering the
value of the land reclaimed.
Planning Drainage Systems.
The planning of drainage works
should be done with the same care
fulness that is bestowed on other i'm
provements. When q large building
is to be constructed, an architect is
consulted, plans are carefully drawn,
al the details are looked into, and
material is selected which will be suit
able for the location, the climate and
the purpose for which the building
should be used During its construc-
ton, inspectors see that tie details
are carried out and the requirements
of the specifications enforced, regard
less of the fact that the contractor
may be losing money and cheaper ma
terials might be used. But in drain
age enterprises. the evidences of such
care are too often painfully lacking.
even though the cost be as great for
greater than that Of large building
In many cases an engineer is en-
,ployed to stake out drain on route
which has been selected only because
it is supposed to b." the best one.
No examination is made for another
route or outlet; the area OF the water
shed is not measured. As a result.
the size of the ditch Is determined by
. mere guess. Time may develop the