Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1912-11-02

of Mitchell, and no small share of
Decatur holding title as they do to the
center of the earth, have a'so title to
the waters of this marvellous reser-
voir Through muItitudinous lakes
and lmesinks it seeks, in many plac-
es, the light of day. The mystical
depths of the famous Blue Springs
near Albany has this life-giving
source. In Lowndes and Brooks,
Thomas and Grady, Though the vast
pond at Lake Park, by the symetrical
sheets of clear water at Lake Alcyona,
and other points too numerous to
mention, the subterranean river gives
notice unmistakable that like the
brook in Tennyson's charming lyric,
Men may come and
Men may go,
But L go on forever"
The Eocene formation which the
great lacustrine body underlies is
marked on the preliminary geological
map of Georgia, published in 1908, by
S. w McCallie, with the col alteration
Fof Otto Veatch More obviously to
the masses, in the opinion of Dr.
Fort is it marked on the surface by
the "oak and hickory lands" in the
counties mentioned. In the lands of
this sort DR. Fort owns a plantation
in Dougherty county about ten miles
from Albany. He determined to test
his theory as to the existence of this
reservoir and to test it for the pur-
pose of rrigation.
After some decay, resulting from ac-
cidents in boring, he has now reach
ed, at the depth of seven hundred
feet superintendent supply. 1t
gushes forth from a pipe two and
one half inches in diameter at the
rate of 10000 gallons per diem. Catch
ing the water in an ordinary earthern
reservoir, by means of terra Gotta
pipes, with effective valves at the nee
essary distance from each other, he
has distributed the water so as to ir-
rigate fourteen acres. His reservoir
holds four hundred thousand gallons
and this he finds sufficient to irrigate
/ fourteen acres of land with one ncn
of water every ten days. He can
now d defiance to drouth. When ir,
rigation is necessary the pure water
/ is re eased from the deep lacustrine
source, the reservoir and the terra cot
ia pipes are filed, the valves are open
ed until the supply from one valve
meets that afforded by its neighbor,
The, keen interest of the Department
of Agriculture in Washington prompt-
ed it to supply to DR.. Fort, or to sug-
gest the necessary valves. Already,
W tn only imperfect attention, DR..
Fort has raised with the usual COM
mercial fertilizers on an irrigated
acre, one hundred bushels of corn.
4 So wonderful is his success that
( Milo B. Williams, Irrigation Engineer
/ of the Nate Department of Agri-
culture, has unreservedly declared.
that all the lands in the vast area
above this mighty supply can readily
be given a value of $4,000 per acre.
In view of the cheapness of the system
and the results of irrigation in Geor-
gia and Florida these figures are not
surprising. +
The writer has no technical exper-
fence on this interesting topic, but is
somewhat accustomed to estimate the
evidentual value of facts and without
interest, other than the welfare of
our people, attaches the utmost inn
portance to DR.. Forts demonstrations.
The great ability of the scientists
working with the Agricultural Depart
ment OF the nation widely known
They are at once practical, cautious
and learned The utmost weight
should be accorded their conclusions
These, In connecti' with the facts