Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-05-27
SCIENTIFIC. DISCOVERY CAUSE
Of SOME CONCERN AMONG
AGRICULTURAL EXPERTS
TOO MUCH DRAINAGE
WORK is CHIEF CAUSE
Elimination Of Small Lakes and Bayous
Deplatinq Supply Under Soil--leve'
Has Rseedsd Twelve Feet in Fifty
Years and js Now Near Point Where
Crop Production VIII Pc Menaeed.
,ecial to Times Republican.

Des Moines, May 2i.-Ihe scientiic
| discovery that here in Iowa the water
| level during the past fifty years mas
| dropped twelve feet is being taken
note of and a movement inaugurated
| 20 more fully conserve the Iowa water
supply for the future crop production
| and needs OF .he sta:a.
Governor Harding is calling Il meet
| ing of the Mississippi Valley Conser-
walton Society to be held ut McGreg-
| or July %. IS and 20 TO consider this
| matter. The meeting will be held in
| connection with that Of the Iowa Con-
servation Association.
United State senators and represent
| atives as well as the governors OF Min
| nesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa
will be invited and urged to attend this
meeting. Some plans should be made
TO conserve the future water supply
which will work out practically and ef-
fectively, Governor Harding believes.
Professor S. W. Boyer. of Ames. has
made considerable study of this ques-
ton of the water supply. In recent
discussion of this subject nc called at
tention to the experiments made here
in Iowa by the government and from
its findings the government declared
| that the upper level of the water is not
far from the limit of its availability for
crop growth.
Matter Of Grave Concern.
After pointing out that the ground
water must be looked upon as a reserve
| supply from the standpoint of farm
| crops and is subject to overdraft dur
ing periods of drouth. Professor Boyer
said.
THE universal lowering Of the ground
water level is a matter of grave con-
| Germ. The records show that the aver
age lowering for the entire country is
about nine feet and for, Iowa some
| twelve and a half feet during the years
preceding 1919. If such recedenceecon-
tinues the result is obvious. 1t viii
| only be a matter OF time when the
great reserve supply is out of reach OF
some of our useful plants. 1t Is time
| to take an inventory, of our water re-
sources and endeavor to discover ways
| and means by which waste or unintel-
ligent use may be reduced to a mini
mum. In other words practice econ
| omy in the use of our most vitality i'm
portant natural resources"
Professor Boyer declares that water
| losses and consequent lowering OF the
| ground water come, thru the .cultiva-
| ton of the land, drainage industrial
operations especially mining and
water consumed by man AMI domestic
animals. The latter. he declared was
| practically negligible. Proper drain
age and cultivation would reduce the
loss. he declared. but open bitches have
caused a great waste of water.
Open bitches Cat1se Waste.
open bitches lower the subsoiI wat
er and increase the run-eff in addition
to interfering with general farming
operations" he said. 1.-THE ditch al
ways destroys the land for agriculture
al purposes and the banks are too fire.
quenty worse than useless, as they be-
come the breeding grounds for all man
ner of foul weeds. In general from
two to eight acres per mile are rem
dered non productive. Thing equal
ICES the run-off, while the open ditch
Increases the inequality between the
flood and low water.
In north central Iowa the numerous
ponds and lakelets originally present
were natures method OF conserving the
ground water level. establishing stream
flow and reducing soil waste. The
wholesale destruction Of these natural
devices thru the open ditch or tile
drains with catch basins has more or
less completely removed these natural
safeguards
Professor Boyer holds to the view
that large tracts Of land which include
timebr, lakes or ponds should be pre-
served as stabilizers Of stream flow
and water supply, conservers OF the
soil and necessary to enable the Mis-
s'ssippi valley to maintain it's position
as the granary of the world,