The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1916-12-19
What Drainage 10 Accomplish hing in
Cache Valley,

For years the question of drain
ing the low lands of Cache Valley
has been under discussion. Some few
attempts have been made by individ-
ual farmers to drain their waterlog-
ged fields by laying tile throughout
their land; and in this effort they
have been richly rewarded in most
cases. Notably successful were those
few men around Hyde Park who tile
drained their lands and made them
into very productive farms, paying
them many time over for their
efforts.
The year 1916, however, has sect
very great stride toward the re-
demption of these alkaline and water
logged areas. The Logan Land and
Drainage Company, a company pro-
NOTED by men reared in cache Val
ley and who have the progress of tie
Valley at heart, has nearly completed
the drainage of about $500 acres
lying between Logan and Mendon.
This large area is mostly adapted
to sugar beets and dairying and will
add hundreds of thousands of dol
lars worth of produce to the out
put of this already rich valley. The
step, however, toward retaining
such lands will be the greatest good
in the long run; because there are
more than thirty thousand acres OF
land in this valley which can be
similarly reclaimed and which will
undoubtedly be done in the near
future. The total good, then, to the
valley will be almost beyond com
putation.
The idea of drainage is to take
off the surplus irrigation water and
to rid the soil of harmful salts. Too
much water is used on the irrigated
fields Of this valley, as a rule; and
the result is that the low lands get
much of this water to their distinct
harm II the water doesn't harm the
low lands, it usually sinks into the
field where it is applied, only to rise
and fill the pores of the soil until
irreparablc dammage results il tile
drainage is not installed. AS us.
ual thing the soil of the arid west
contains much harmful salt, along
with some very desirable ones.
When the water sinks to a leve;
where these salts abound, it dissol-
YES them. AS the water is applied to
the land the land fills with this SALTY
water until eventually the surface
soil is reached. Then excessive evap-
Grafton takes place, freeing the water
and leaving the harmful salts to dc
damage to crops. Drainage then be
comes necessary to take off the water
and the salts.
Tile drainage is the only solution
to the reclamation of such land. The
drains are laid from FIVE to seven fee!
under ground so as to reduce the
level of the ground water. Then a:
water percolates through the soil i
dissolves the salts and carries then
| uoWH from tilc SUI idSC " iO"Si iSN'
els, at least as low as the tile. Wher
this is accomplished the land is re
deemed, except for the cultivation
which all land demands to be put in
to proper condition. 1t is to be par
ticularly noted that tile drains do no
have to carry off the salts; they carr,
off great deal of them, but grea
deal remains in the soils at lcve
below the drains. In this way thu
good salts. such as phosphorus, nj
trates and potash, remain in reach o
plant life to act as food for growth.
The results of drainage in tn
area where the Logan Land an,
Drainage Company is working Cal
be seen in the large amount Of waite
being drained off, This water, al
though it has been running 70
; months, still shows salt TO be pres
ent, thereby demonstrating conclus
, lively that the system is working. A
the water applied to the land doe
; not contain salt, and the water com
ing out of the tile does contain i
] then il shows that the water is dis
t solving those salts and in time mus
} redeem the land.
But the good coming from drain
age is not alone in freeing the Ian
OF salt and water, but in many, man
other ways. Not least Of these way
is the Improvement in sanitation. In
stead Of having swamps in the lo'
! ground where the excessive irriga
: tion water gathers, and where TN
mosquitoes breed in myriads, tn
,, land is dried out and swcctcnet
$ thereby doing away with discas
hatchcrics. As sewers act in the cit,
{ so in a way do the tile drains a,
in the land, Heavy rains are quiet
ly taken care Of; early thaws al
y ,,r-;,I Of ., I,,,,c tho IapJ a., Jr