The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1920-07-22
DRAINAGE A NECESSITY.

Last week the Herald called atten,
ton to the need for drainage in this
section. This is q matter that mus
be given seri0u- consideration soon.
er or later, or we may expect, every
few years, to sustain such losses a,
those Of last spring as a result of un-
usually heavy rains. Under the
above caption the Farm and Live
Stock Record, of Jacksonville, en-
phasizec the necessity for drainage in
the following editorial:
Farming in Florida and the costai
plain of the South generally is DIFF
felent from farming in other Soc
tons of the country. This is practi-
cally level country. therefore drain
aSe is one OF tie IeccSsary require
ment9 for successful rlrming. In the
hilly and rolling country drainage is
not so essential except in certain To-
calitics. In the arid West irrigation
( is necessary for sICCesscUl farming
and this is expensive.
/ Our rainfall is sufficient to pro-
vide all the moisture necessary, but
during our rainy season in the sum
mer and when we have occasional
heavy rains in the spring and fall
much damage can be done to the
cropc If drainage * not provided, as
the water runs off 81, 'ly on the lev
ell stretches.
Dr. Image is not difficult in this
section but ii must be continuous
from the cultivated lads to the out
let's and in county as yet but thin
ly populated it has been found not %
easy to secure drainage in isolated
places because Of the intervening UNI
developed lands, For this reason
drainage districts have i,o-n cstab-
lished in many OF the counties of the
state, embodying tracts of land vary
ing from $4,000 acres to 10000
acres and the lands in these drainage
districts have been placed in condit-
ion to safely grow crops of all kinds
at any season of the year.
The method of securing these
drainage districts is under q state
law providing for their legal estab-
lishment, when a majority of the
acres included in the area votes to
establish the district and bond it for
the amount necessary to construct
adequate drainage After the topo-
graphical survey has been made by
competent engineers and the drain
age system outlined by them, an es-
innate of the cost of the project is
made by consulting engineers of note
and then the bonds ale issued in due
form after the legal requirements
have all been met. When the bonds
are sold and the money is available
contracts are let for the work of
dredging and ditching and in a year
or two, or perhaps tt rec, the drain
age system is completed.
What is the reSIlt? Lands that
were worth only ten 10 twenty dol
lars IN acre are m.,dc worth a hun
dred dollars an acre and sell readily
for that sum, because farmers can
buy them with sor,e degree of con-
tidence and assurance that their
crops are aafeguarGed from N.Htcr
and destruction. Millions of acres
have been drained in this manner in
the state and most If them have been
purclaSed and ere being deyolCIed |
Other millions If acres of fertile !
lands are awaiting such drainage and
they also will be taken up quickly
at good prices. TIE bonds are usu-
ally payable in thirty years and long
before that time the lands are worth |
ten times what they were even after |
the drainage was first completed It |
looks, therefore, aS if drainage wa, |
one of our most essential improve
ments.
s