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Show CACHE VALLEY VAL-LEY LANDS Result of Scientific Investigation. In-vestigation. Valuable information to Farmers. Eiinou Rki'uiimoan: Sir. In ic-plytojoui ic-plytojoui Inquliy relatlvctothedraiu-agcor relatlvctothedraiu-agcor Inlgated lauds In the Logan River valley, much may bo said which has an Important bearing upon tho piesent and ruture productiveness or land In this vlclnltj. It is well known that many llelds at one time noted foi their abundant crop-, or wheat and luccrn are now unlit fot such crops and are given over to pasture or to meadows of timothy and icd-top grasses. In many Instances a mixture mix-ture of these with Inferior wild and water grasses Is all that these llelds arc now capable of producing. Lands to which this description apples ap-ples aie usually found near tho baso of tome Irrigated slope or occupy some Hat which Is a little lower than ad-Joining ad-Joining fields. They become wet early In the season and continue to grow worse until irrigation ceases. While some of theso lands produce fairly Rood crops or mixed grasses, It Is not uncommon ror teams to mire In attempting at-tempting to harvest the crop. Portions Por-tions or wheat llelds become boggy and glvo place to some crop less sensitive sensi-tive to a wet and cold soil. Lucein fields are drowned out and thlsfavoi-Itc thlsfavoi-Itc forage plant Is set aside for the shallow rooted timothy grass. The cause of these unfavorable soil conditions Is leadlly admitted to be t.ic seepage of surplus aud waste v atcr throught the soil from Irrigated iblds occupjlng the higher levels, or tie Kikago fiom supply canals. This VYcess of water hasdimluishedlhc pio-ductlve pio-ductlve value of some of the land tlfty orseventj'-llve per cent. Then is no alkali to contend with as Is the case with sloped land in manj othei localities, locali-ties, neither is thcio any question ic-gardlng ic-gardlng the fertilltj of the soil. Tho remedy to bo applied Is some well directed work in drainage which may be done at a comparatively small expense If taken up In a cooperative aud thoiough manner. It should be obscivcd in this connection that tho bogging of excellent fanning lands has been greatly hastened aud the evil aggravated by the pioruso and waste-ful waste-ful use or water on the adjoining higher llelds. In view or the Injury now threatening all or the lower land, the use of water on the upper llelds should be limited to tho quanity actually act-ually required by good husbandry, and the methods of application should bo attended with such caie that the lowci lauds may not bo made the dumping reservoir for llfty per cent or the water used In lirlgatlng land upon the higher levels. The soil Is deep, rich and permits the ready percolation or water, and will respond promptly to the action or drains or any kind. The manner or draining land or this land character p.ntakesmore or the nature or protecting pro-tecting tho lower lands rrom the soil water or the higher levels, than or lcmoving It rrom soil after it is once saturated. The rational plan Involves the use of deep drains or ample. size along the upper edge or the lnjuied Hold, or where Injuiy shows, extending extend-ing the drain across the slope to some adequate outlet in such a way as to Intercept all the undeillovv, if possible as It percolates from the higher land. Should this be accomplished It will bo readily seen that no water can reach the land except that which is supplied by direct Irrigation. Two features of drainage by this plan should receive marked attention or tho chains will not prove efllcieut. The drains must bo deep enough to Intercept tho underflow and cut oil head pressure Horn soil water carried by the upper land. This depth may bo live reet or moio depending much upon the surface slope and tho structure struct-ure of the soil. Tho quantity or water Is much gieatcr than Is usually suspected sus-pected and depends largely upon tho stretch or Irrigated land which hocius as a reeder to tho wet tract. A tile drain fl-ln or 12-In In diameter may bo necessary lor this puipose, and drains or much greater capacity may be ie-quired ie-quired in some locations. As may bo seen, a drain or this character and location may protect 80 aciesas elfect- ually asl acre, making the cost or the work to each aero depend entirely upon thcsltuatlon of the land and the length and size of drain requited. In some cases other drains located lower down the slope and parallel to the llrst and upper drain may be lequlred. The cooperation of laud owucis who will be mutually benetlted by the work In most Instances will he necessary In order to carry out tlio pioject with desirable cconomv. While this method of reclaiming sceked land Is not new or tried elsewhere, else-where, farmers in this vicinity hesitate hesi-tate to take any measures to drain their wet land or to foiestall the In-cieaslng In-cieaslng Injury which they seo creeping creep-ing upon them. They admit however, the deslrabllltj of such an Improve ment to the extent that It would double the present value of the land. It Is doubtless lack of contldenccln the ultimate success or such work as has been outlined which deters some U not manj land owners fiom beginning drainage work In this coiu'.tv. Tl'o Olllce of Experiment Stations of the l S. Dept. of Agrlcultuic has been engaged for the past two jcars in making Investigations pot tabling to the drainage of Irrigated lands and has made survejs and plans for such work in other states The oillco up to this time has not been prepared to lake up actual experimental demonstrations demon-strations for tho purpose or determining determin-ing the efllclency or various methods or drainage aud their cost to the land ow nor. The last appropriation or Congress Con-gress now makes such experimental work posslblo and It Is the desire of the department to co-operate with some land owner If a lease can bo obtained and method of proceduic agreed upon which will lo mutually satisfactory. Such an experiment will be or value to other parts or the state where similar simi-lar conditions aro round as well as to this Immediate vicinity. There seems to be some doubt among many farmers farm-ers regarding tho value of government govern-ment experimental work. The Impression Im-pression sometimes prevails that methods met-hods used to produce a favorable system sys-tem arc beyond the teach of the aver-agefarmer.or aver-agefarmer.or that the icsults obtained are not commensurate with thelrcost. It Is quite truo that experiments often show what cannot be prolltably done as well the contiarj, both facts j being equally valuable to the agiicul-turist. agiicul-turist. In drlnagc expcilments It Is proposed pro-posed to Incur no moie expense than will bo necessaij to accomplish the desired, end adding to the plan only as subsequent expeileuce may dlcatc. By making legular observations of tho action of the drains upon the soil, and upon the water or the soil, as well as the cllct upon the pioduction, wo may obtain results which will solve as a valuable guide In the lcclamatlou of over saturated lirlgatcd lands Another class of lands in the valley Is susccptlblo of being greatly Incieas-cd Incieas-cd In value with a comparative small outlay of labor. They are the level meadow and pasture lands Ijlng between be-tween tho foot or the slope and the Logan river. These lands are widely dlffeicnt fiom tho slopes nearer the hills. The ton soil, though rich Isonly about twelve Inches deep and Isunder-lald Isunder-lald by a still clay. Tho soil contains considerable alkali on account of which the sin face Is generally Hooded for tho purpose of washing It away or rather for dissolving It forthcie Is no drainage urovided ror lemoving the water fiom the land. By keeping the land fully wet water grasses giow and aflord Infei lor pasturage. The .soil Is naturally adapted to white clover, red top and timothy. They giow where thero Is little or no stagnant water and vvhcio alkali is not too strong. It should bo observed that stlir clay subsoils form superior meadow mead-ow and graying lands and aie well adapted to shallow looting grasses, but such grasses will not flourish In stagnant water. 1 venture to suggest sug-gest that theso lands may bo fitted for tho pioduction of good crops or swcot grasses by providing surrace drains to take away tho surface water whenever It becomes necessary to Hood the land to remove alkali and to supply needed moisture. Let tho land be divided Into snips about 20 rods wide, each strip having a water and drainage ditch two feet deep on the lower side and a head or supply ditch on the upper side. Each strip maybe Inlgated as rrequently as desired, de-sired, In which case the water should pass directly acioss the sum Into the waste ditch carrying with it the alkali It may have dissolved. The drainage ditch will scive to keep tho land Him for either pastine or meadow mead-ow and dry enough for the growth of sweet grasses. It is believed that this simple method or tieatment would double tho value or the product, to say nothing or tho Incieased ease and economy or operating these vallcj lands. Tho presence or wells or flowing flow-ing water commend It to the dairj-man dairj-man as ideal pastine land If Its swampy condition can bo ameliorated and sweet grasses bo produced. Respectrully, 0. G. Etnorr, Engineer In charge of Drainage Investigations, U.S.Dcpt.Agrlculture. |