The Brunswick news., 1917-05-22
GEORGIA DRAINAGE CONVENTION

ems. May 20 and "a. is PARTICULAR
important Ia its bearing on The foci
supply problem. The need OF great
~ increased output OF food staple
will not end with the war. Years o
bountiful haryests will be required .
make up the shortage of the world
grain reserves and to replenish ih'
fearful waste that has been going cl
since the summer of 1914. Ever be
fore that time there was pronoune
ed failure of good production TO keel
pace with the growth OF population
so that besides the special problems
entailed by the war we shall face fol-
long time to come the task of bring
ing the food supply well up to nor
NAL needs. II is essential. therefore
In planning and acting for the pres
ent emergency to look far ahead. re
membering that no one can foresee
the wars end and that. however soon
or late peace may come, the impor.
tance of increasing the effective
sources OF food production will re
main undiminished II is in this con-
nection that the Georgia Drainage as
Bociation has message of high
value TO the state, says the Atlanta
Journal
or the .thirty-eight million acres OF
land in Georgia, approximately seven
and half million, or about one-fftb,
are now unsuited to agricultural uses
because of wet or swamp conditions.
But these lands, if reclaimed as they
easily could be, would make cxcep-
tionally good farm sites. Prof. S. w.
McCallio, the state geologiBt, con
seryatively estimates that under
proper cultivation these acres, now
idle, would produce annually two hun
dred and twenty-five million bushels
OF corn. That would mean, at two
dollars bushel, -four hundred and
fifty million dollars almost four
times the valuation of Gcorgia's az
gregate crop income last year and APP
proaximately one-half that of .se
corn crop of the sixteen southern
states. Georgia cannot afford to neg
iect drainage opportunities which OIL
fer such rewards.
The profits of swamp and wet land
reclamation are not matter of scien.
tiflc estimate only, but of practical
proof. Fifteen miles from Ocala, Flor
ida lies tract of some five thousand
acres which is now described as the
richest body of land under cultiva-
ton in America" This land was in
the bed of the 0klawaha river aud
along adjacent streams. Ordinarily 1t
was waist deep in water. A drainage
project, begun about five years ago,
.,;;; :r;.;;;soriGa;! The tract into farms
Welding fro none hundred to Il hun
dred and forty bushels Of corn TO
the acre and producing other crops
in proportionate abundance. Georgia
affords equally convincing examples
of The highly profitable results OF
drainage, and in every county OF this
state where drainage enterprises
have been undertaken the property
owners and taxpayers feel that
money could not have been more aa-
vantagcously spent
The peculiar Importance OF reclaim
ing wet and swamp lands is in tho
fact that they afford the most fertile
soil to be found and viii yield the
largest returns for the least cost OF
production. We must extend our area
OF cultivation as well as intensity our
methods II we are to meet the ultf
mate demands of the food supply
problem Then, why not as mat
ter of economy and efficiency bring
these wet lands into use? by so do
ing, we shall remove the main source
of malaria which costs millions 4
year in the cutting OF of life and the
i,,,nairmant of viger We shall con-
vert u menace into q mime of agrieni'
tnral gold The possibilities of recla'
nation of this kind will be discussed
In all its aspects. practical and selen'
tile, at the next meeting of the drain