The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-02-09
FARM DRAINAGE In THE
SPRING WHEAT STATES

ct US consider for moment, the
meaning of wet and a dry soil as
commonly understood. We know that
the soil is made up of exceedingly
fine particles of irregular shape, and
with different properties. 1t is formed
by the disintegration of rocks of diff
ferent composition, and Is distributed
by glacial action and floods and mixed
with the products of successive ages
of vegetable growth. These particles
as viewed under a microscope are
rough and irregular varying in size
| from course sand to clay. They can
not lie close together so as to form
o solid mass, and IN the ordinary soil
! equals nearly half it's volume The
smaller the particles, the greater the
proportion of space. Each particle
holds a film Of water over its entire
surface and thus provides a supply of
| this material for the roots of the
plants. This moisture is held by cap
| iIlary attraction. When the quantity
of water held in the soil is greater
than is required to supply that which
is held by capillary attraction the soil
is a wet SOIL A dry soil Is one In
which all moisture held is by capil-
larry attraction. A perfectly dry soil
would be a dead soil, since the plant
food is taken in liquid form by
the roots, and unless there is moisture
sufficient to supply that required by
capillary attraction, there is not suf-
fcient to dissolve the chemical con-
stituents and supply them TO the plant
roots.
Natural Drainage
| Some soils have perfect natural
drainage, ie they are underlain with
material which gives free passage to
surplus water While there are other
soils just as rich in natural fertility
which are uEproductive because under
all ordinary circumstances they con-
| tain too much water.
| Whether this excess of soil water Is
caused by rainfall direct or by seepage
| from lands which occupy a higher
level, the surplus must be removed be-
fore the soil will be in proper condi-
ton for plant growth. The removal
of the surplus water may be accom-
plished either by open bitches, which
! IN addition to removing surface water
from contiguous land will, if sufficient
| " deep, facilitate under drainage for
some Of this land S well. It is much
letter to remove the water downward
through the soil instead OF over the
surface, for several reasons.
The finest and most fertile parts Of
the soil are retained instead of being
carried off by the water flowing over
them.
The plant food in the humus or
! any fertilizer is carried into and in
l.corporated with the soil as the water
oercolates downward, and the water in
uassinp downward dissolves the soil
material so that it can be more readily
utilized for plant nutrition.
The frost goes out from one to two
weeks earlier in the spring than is the
case with soils affected with surface
drains only.
The effects of drought are diminish
ed, as has been found by experience,
! owing to the enlarged and deepened
! soil bed and to the more favorable
condition of the surface for prevent
ing excessive evaporating of moisture.
Tile Drainage.
The use of tile drainage in the Red
river valley has been the subject OF
| experiment at the agricultural col
lege at Fargo and at the Crookston
experiment station in Minnesota, and
the results obtained have justified the
belief that when properly laid tile
drainage will be entirely successful in
the Red river valley.
In order to provide for the dis
nosal of under drainage water it is
necessary to construct outlet chan
nels of sufficient depth and carrying
capacitv. and in several instances in
| mill hn
sary to improve the channels of natur-
al water ways by dredging and clear
ing of brush and weeds and cutting off
short bends.
One of the greatest reasons why
| more drainage work has not been an
| accomplished fact in North Dakota is
that most of our earlier bitches were
either designed too small or not prop
erly located to carry away the sur
plus water, and also to the fact that
after the main ditch was constructed
many of the farmers did not realize
that it was necessary to construct farm
! lateraIs to the main ditch. In the
| early attempts to drain our valley
! lands the highway bitches were de-
pended upon to carry off the surface
water with the result that as the grad
ing of the highways were extended
west to the sleeper western slope, the
water was FASTENED down onto the
| lower, more level land of the valley
and the highway bitches being INSULT
cient to carry 1t, spread out over these
low lands causing much damage.
| MANY of the farmers to prevent their
lands from being flooded by water from
their neighbors' higher land, diked
| their own, causing the neighbors' land
| to be flooded by back water and in
stances have been known where Gull
verts have been wilfully blocked, which
| accomplished the same results, viz:
suit at law with its heavy costs and
| with the drainage problem still I'M
| solved.
| 1t is hard for some of us to under
! stand why we should be called upon
to help pay for a ditch which takes
away water that was brought onto
our own land by reason of our neigh
bors' land being higher than our own.
| This brings up the much discussed
question of assessment of benefits and
costs. This is a very delicate mat
ter to deal with in cooperative drain
age since there are so many different
opinions among interested land owners
as to the proper distribution of costs,
frequently these opinions being biased
by personal considerations. Moreover,
there is some truth that the assess
ment Of benefits and costs, even when
made with the utmost care and good
/ judgment. will be open to criticism
from some point of view.
Rights of Owners.