The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1916-02-23
Drainage Meeting
Held at Clements
Hundred Drainage Enthusiasts
Have Meeting Saturday and
Discuss Work
MERCHANTS SERVE LUNCH
Prof. Stewart Gives Able Ad-
dress, Engineers Reynolds and
Kline Give Report

A very successful and instruc-
tive meeting was held in the
Town Hall at Clements, Satur-
day, February 10, the topic I'M
der discussion being Drainage.
The meeting was presided over
by Christ Fredricksen, and the
principal speaker was Prof. j..
I. Stewart. of the State Agri-
cultural College. Nearly one
hundred farmers attended, and
the deep interest taken in drain
age at the present time was
shown by the number of ques-
tions and general discussion that
followed the address.
Prof. Stewart, the head of
drainage department of the state
agricultural department, began
by giving a brief history of
drainage, showing that it was
no new thing. but that attempts
had been made from the earliest
times to assist nature in remOv-
ing the surplus water from the
soil. The earliest attempts at
underground drains were mere
ly stones branches or other
loose material thrown into the
bottom of trench and the
trench refilled. From this we
have gradually progressed to the
present stage, where little ar
gument is needed to convince
anyone of the great benefits to
be derived from thorough drain
age.
Some Benefits
Among the more obvious bene-
fits is the improvement in the
appearance of a farm. Where the
country in general has been
drained of it's swamp land its
rise in value due to appearance
alone is no small item. A land
seeker who sees from the train
large desolate sloughs and
drowned out fields is apt to pass
on through such a district with
out making any more examlna-
ton, whereas when he sees well
drained, fenced farms, with good
and well-kept buildings, he is
much more likely to wish to
settle among such an evidently
prosperous community.
Drainage benefits the soil in
dry years as we'll as wet, by pro-
viding a deeper soil for plants
to grow in and greater storage
capacity of water which can be-
come available for growing
crops.
Drainage conserves the fertil-
ity Of your farm by preventing
washing and erosion Of soil. 1t
is always the most valuable part
of your soil that is washed down
to the rivers and deposited in
bars and flats at their outlets.
Drainage warns the soil and
aerates it. Plants need warmth,
air and moisture, and must have
all three before they can grow.
Space and time prevent the
giving of more of Prof. Stew
arts address at this time, but
further extracts will be given
in next weeks issue of The Ga
Zette.
Engineers Report
AS this meeting was called
with special reference to the
drainage proceedings now pend
ing in the neighborhood of Glenn
ents, known as County bitches
No. %, "a, rs and 26; the engi-
neer on these bitches B. J. Rey-
holds and assistant engineer F.
R. Kline made a statement re-
garding their probable size, cost,
amount of fall, area benefited
and other matters connected
with them.
Roughly, these bitches will
drain a watershed of about Al
square miles, or 10000 acres, at
a probable cost of $40 to SIS
per acre, or 100000 to $45O,OOO.
Payments Easy
Mr.. Reynolds explained that
the Drainage Laws allowed the
payment of the cost to spread
over a period of Is to 20 years,
instead of 10 years, if the farm
ers so desired it, and also stated
that it could be arranged so that
only the interest a to 1870
would be paid for the first five
years, leaving the heavy pay
ments until the drained land had