The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-02-22
Benefits Of
Drainage.
BY John T. Stewart, Agricul-
tural Engineer.

oo5.45.. Out or this area there was
used for highway purposes, four acres;
non-productive land in sloughs, five
acres; ten acres, producing half a
crop, equal. in non-productive land, to
. five acres, or total of fourteen non
tillable' acres. This left 4 tillable
area of fifty-nine acres, costing the
state $12972 per acre. A system of
understanding 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 a cost of $615; or
net gain Of $682.2O. In other words,
ten additional acres has been added to
the farm, at cost of only $61.50 per
acre, against $129.72 per acre, paid
for tillable land in the original pur-
chase.
But this added value of $682.2O does
not represent all the benefits which
have come to the farm from the intro
duction of undertakings. The dis
appearance of the sloughs, and of the
superfuous water in other places, per-
m1ts the division of the Land into regu.
lar, and therefore more easily cult
waited fields. Such fields, having now
q uniform soil, can be cultivated in
less time, and crop rotations can be
arranged to better advantage, than
where the land is broken up by non
cultivable areas. A dry, loose soil
can be worked more easily than a 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 ill odors from
dead fish and decaying vegetation. 1t
Is a first step in good road. building;
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 i'm
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,
all 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 it's construc-
ton, inspectors see that the 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 or
greater than that of large building.
In many cases an engineer is en-
ployed to stake out drain on a route
which has been selected only because
it, is supposed to be-" the best one.
No examination is made for another
route or outlet; the area of the water.
shed is not measured. AS result,
the size of the ditch is determined by
. mere guess. Time may develop tho
fact that the best route was not sc.
lected, and that the ditch was too
large or too small, and consequently
does not perform the work satisfactor.
lily. A ditch, being improperly located,
either does not drain all the land it
should or it Is expensive to construct
and maintain. One that is too large
will not clean itself properly; while
one that is too small will not carry
the required volume Of water.
Maps and Surveys.
The basis for every correctly
planned drainage Improvement Is an
accurate map Of the area to be