Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-03-07
BIG DRAINAGE
MACHINE USED
IN FL JARDIN
Reclamation of Large
Areas of Sailed
Lands May Result
From Experiment

A demonstration of the Killefer
Gopher" a deep tilling and drain
age machine which Is expected TO
bring thousands Of acres Of waste
land in eastern Cameron county m
der cultivation, Is being made on the
Dennis farm in Ell Jardin.
The machine, which is merely a
huge replica OF the deep tilling ma
chimes coming into general use in
the lower part OF the Valley, pene-
trates 10 a depth Of four feet, drag
ging behind the point a torpedo"
eight inches in diameter, which
forms by compression an earthen
pine which is expected to function
practically the same as drain tile.
The land on which the demonstra-
tion is being made is badly "salted,"
M almost devoid Of vegetation. The
water table is within two feet Of the
surface. and the lower stratas are
very flight"
The first experiment was made
Tuesday afternoon when the "goph-
err" was attached to a 45-horsepower
caterpillar tractor, but the tractor
was unable TO pull il at the full
depth Of four feet. A second tractor
was attached Wednesday morning
and in the tight land the gopher"
made a good load for the two cater
pillars when operated to the full
depth Of four feet.
Run Drainage Loops
The 20-acre tract was ~gophered"
Wednesday morning. the machine
being run in loops across the field
with the drain lines approximately
90 feet apart. After completing the
loops, drain lines were run through
the center Of the field, which hap
pened to be the lowest point, and
carried 70 an open drain outlet on
. northern edge. Three or four
outfall lines were cut, each inter
s~ectioning the drain lines formed
when the machine was looped across
the field, and these are expected 10
provide ample discharge.
The entire field will be deep till
ed 70 a depth Of % inches, the deep
uller 70 cut across the drain lines.
water will then be turned onto the
field. and IL is believed the salt can
be leached out Of the entire tract in
a month or six weeks, and the tract,
which was formerly one Of the best
KAR8A&&49 AM AuG Ii 12EQAu UAttTACLw
can again be brought under eultiva-
tion.
Considerable skepticism was ex-
pressed prior to the demonstration as
70 the drain pipes made by this
method lasting more than a few
weeks or possibly a few months.
Using the s-inch torpedo in the
heavy clay subsoil the compression
was sufficient TO form pines, the
walls Of which were extremely hard.
The clay was forced into the cut
formed by the standard and pressed
SO hard that IL was impossible to
determine where the cut had been.
Land Owners Interested
Land owners in the Brownsville
section are watching the d~emonstra-
ton with great interest. They as
sert that If the machine proves prac-
tlcable in the Valley, as II has in
California. practically all low, un-
drained lands in eastern Cameron
county can be brought under Guilt
walton. including large areas Of
s~acahuiste land from which the salt
could easily be leached N under
ground drain lines are provided. The
drain lines can be constructed 10
conform with the contours. and
spaced according 20 the texture Of
the soil and the drainage required.
Good outlets are provided for prac-
tically all these lands with which the
~~Rophered" drain lines can be con-
nscted either by open drains or b.
cutting a series Of underground
drains.
Deep tillage will Be q necessary
adjunct 10 reclamation by this pro-
cess, according to soil experts who
are watching the demonstration, but
a. deep tillage is no more expensive
than blowing. this will be no handi-
cap. They assert that by using tie
gopher" and providing the under
ground drains and then tearing the
suosoil 60 q depth Of "a inches with
the deep tiller. the salt can soon he
leachcd out. That this land 4 ex-
tremeiy. fertile after the salt has
been eliminated has repeatedly been
demonstrated.