The Idaho Springs siftings-news., January 05, 1917, Image 6

About The Idaho Springs siftings-news. (Idaho Springs, Colo.) 1905-19??

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THOROUGH DRAINAGE GOOD
FARM PRACTICE
The farmer should study conditions causing poor
drainage on his land and find remedy for it—then
he should plan drainage system to overcome the trouble
By JOHN T. STEWART, C. E. Agri
cultural Engineer, University of
Minnesota.
T IS not an uncommon
thing for u landowner to
tight a drainage assess
ment, on land which has
a market value of from
S2O to S3O per acre, and
at almost the same time
buy another tract of
similar land, at the mar
ket price, ills desire Is
to acquire more acres, under the false
Idea that his prosperity will he de
noted "by tiie amount of land in his
possession. He does not reulize that
one acre of thoroughly-drained land
may bring him a greater Income, with
half the labor and expense of cultiva
tion, than two acres of the undrained
land; or that it could be acquired at
one-third to one-half the cost of the
newly-bought acre. This extra land
Is purchased with the idea that land
values will rise. As the real value of
land Is regulated by Its Improvements
and productiveness, the landowner
whose only object Is to acquire more
acres, rather than to Improve the land
already In his possession, Is an “un
desirable citizen." as he expects to be
the gainer through hls neighbor's Im
provements.
The Idea Is popular, especially
among the owners of wet lands, that
the removal of surplus water by drain
age would be of great benefit to the
state or community tit large. While
this Is true to a certain extent, and
while wet lands belonging to the pub
OBTAINING TRUE GRADE LINE BY GRADE LATH METHOD.
The line of sight is five feet above thegrade line and parallel to it. By set
ting the lath stakes at the sides and lining up the cross laths the grade
may be fixed before the trench is dug.
lie may be Justly held chargeable with
their share In the cost of Improve
ments, the facts do not Justify the In
ference that the state should pay It
all. The correct Idea. In raising funds
for drainage works, Is that the acre
more directly benefited Is the ucre to
pay the expense.
Many landowners will oppose a
drainage Improvement for the reason
that the ditch will, In part, be located
on their land. They will do this, even
In the face of the fact that from one
fourth to three-fourths of their land,
because It Is too wet, produces only
about half of what It should, In the
ordinary year.* They actually prefer
to stand the yearly loss of half a crop
or more, rather than allow one-flftleth
to one-eightieth part of this wet land
to be occupied by a ditch which would
so thoroughly drain the whole tract
fhat St could he cultivated up to the
banks of the ditch.
The benefits accruing from drainage
are well illustrated In the Improve
ment of a small farm, of 72.89 acres,
recently purchased by the state of Min
nesota. Six hundred and fifteen dol
lars were spent In draining this farm.
The land had been bought by the state
Map of a Tile Drainage System Used
in Wisconsin.
for the specific purpose of cultiva
tion. The 72.89 acres cost $7,663.45.
Out of this area there was used for
highway purposes, four acres; non
productive land In sloughs, five acres;
ten acres producing half a crop, equal
In non-producive laud, to five acres; or
a total of 14 non-tlllable acrea. This
left a tillable area of 59 acres, cost
ing the state $129.72 per acre. A sys
tem of underdraining was Introduced,
by which the five acres of non-produc
tive land In sloughs, and the ten acres
which produced half a crop, are made
equal In productive qualities to the
lame area of the other tillable land.
The total cultivable nrea is thus In
creased from 59 to 69 acres. The re
turn to the farm, then. Is $1,297.20. nt
a cost of SGIS; or a net gain of $682.20.
In other words ten additional acres
have been added to the farm at a
cost of only $61.50 ugainst $129.72
per acre, paid for tillable land and In
the original purchase.
Hut this addetTvalue of $682.20 does
not represent all the benefits which
have come to the farm from the In
troduction of underdrainage. The dis
appearance of the sloughs, and of the
superfluous water In other places, per
mits the division of the lund Into reg
ular, and therefore more easily cul
tivated fields. Such fields, having now
a uniform soil, can be cultivated In
less time, and crop rotations can be ar
ranged to better advantage, than
where the land Is broken up by non
cultivable areas. A dry. loose soil can
be worked more easily than a wet.
sticky soil. #
Furthermore, a field which In some
seasons Is productive, and In others
non-productive by reason of excessive
moisture, may be more detrimental to
the farmer’s success than swamp
land; for such lunds are often plowed,
planted, cultivated, and then the crop
Is destroyed by an Influx of water;
whereby not only are they made non
productive, but lubor and seed are
lost. Drainage not only removes the
risk of such losses but Improves the
landscape by substituting broad, fully
cultivated areas for such us are dotted
with sloughs, breeding frogs and mos
quitoes and giving forth ill odors from
dead fish and decaying vegetation. It
is a first step In good road-building,
and, ns a permanent Improvement, It
Increases the value of nil neighboring
lands, and benefits the entire com
munity.
All of these benefits are Illustrated
in the case of the state farm referred
to; and the management feels that
they fully Justify the cost of the Im
provement, without considering the
value of the land reclaimed.
The planning of a drainage system
should be done with the same careful
ness that Is bestowed on other Im
provements. When n large building Is
to be constructed, an architect is con
sulted, plans are carefully drawn, all
the details are looked into, and mate
rial is selected which will be suitable
for the location, the climate and the
purpose for which the building should
be used. During Its construction. In
spectors see that the details are car
ried out and the requirements of the
specifications enforced, regardless of
the fact that the contractor may be
losing money and cheaper materials
might be used. .But In drainage en
terprises, the evidences of such care
are too often painfully lacking, even
though the cost he ns great or greater
than that of a large building. In
many cases an engineer is employed
to stake out a drain on a route which
has been selected only because It Is
"supposed to be" the best one. No
examination Is made for another route
or outlet; the area of the watershed
Is not measured. As a result, the
size of the ditch Is determined by a
mere guess. Time may develop the
fact that the best route was not se
lected. and that the ditch was too large
or too small, and consequently does
not perform the work satisfactorily. A
ditch, being Improperly located, either
does not drain all the land It should
or it Is expensive to construct and
maintain. One that Is too large will
not clean Itself properly; while one
t Hat Is too small will not carry re
quired volume of water.
A drainage system, open or under
ground. works by gravity, and that it
may remove the water there must be
a sufficient fall : that is. a sufficient
and continuous descent, from a level
somewhat lower than the lowest point
on the land to be drained, to the point
where the water Is discharged from
the outlet. It is a common practice to
start a drainage ditch from a slough
at practically the same depth ns the
bottom of the slough. Such "drain
age" will not give satisfaction, as the
ground-water will not be lowered, and
the bed of the slough will continue to
be swampy. For satisfactory drain
age, the water-channel must be deep
enough in the lowest land, and of suf
ficient breadth and depth, to carry the
water without an overflow.
Ditch-construction, like cnrpenjry or
masonry, lb a business In itself; and
for satisfactory results, contracts
should be let in similar manner. The
bidder’s competence, as shown In hls
record In connection with similar un
dertakings, should be taken into con
sideration as well as the size of hls
bid.
Ditches are usually dug In soil the
THE IDAHO SPRINGS SIFTINGS-NEWS
I wettest and most difficult to bundle.
| and It Is necessary that construction
I be carried on during the wettest sea
sons. Consequently, the contractor
! should base his calculations as to time
and methods on the worst conditions,
jTo let a contract td the “lowest bid
der," regardless of hls experience or
equipment, is often to invite serious
disappointment and loss.
Delays, especially, are expensive to
landowners, for not only Is money In
vested in incomplete work, hut often
times a fullure to have the ditch com
plete at the time fixed means the loss
of a crop. In the drainage of swamp
luu*l, which cunnot be plowed until
after the work Is completed. It means
a delay of one or more years before
the cultivation will he a paying invest
ment. With scarcely an exception,
where losses have accrued to agricul
tural Interests through the delay of a
year in the construction of proposed
drainage works, these losses have been
greater than the cost of the Improve
ments. The attempt to save one or
two cents on the cubic yard for ditch
ing. or on the rod for tile trenches, by
giving the Job to a poorly-equipped
man, often becomes an expensive pro
ceeding. Better pay more to a com
petent man, and be sure of a good
Job, completed "on time.”
The kind, size and completeness of
the drainage works needed in a given
locality, the methods of doing the work
and adjusting the costs, must be de
termined by the local conditions. What
Is good practice In one place may
not be practical In another. The char
acter of the ground, surface slopes,
crops raised, and value of land, all
have a bearing on the subject. In
any locality the first consideration Is
an outlet or channel by which the wa
iter may be carried away. In some
localities nature has provided such an
outlet. In others. It may be necessary
for several landowners to band togeth
er and construct a channel, of suf
ficient size and depth to serve as the
main outlet of a network of ditches
which will give relief during wet
years, in many parts of the state,
where such outlets naturally exist or
are already completed, crops have suf
fered from an excess of water In the
Immediate vicinity, for the reason that
the water from the cultivated fields
could not readily escape. Consequent
ly, for complete druinage, it Is neo s
sary to have, on the individual farm,
a thorough system for collecting the
water as it falls and carrying It to the
main outlet.
Unless the ground Is very flat, the
location of proposed drains can t>e
best determined when the ground Is
free from vegetable growths. A heavy
growth of crops or weeds may cause
low places to look high and high places
low. A field freshly plowed or sown
Is In the best condition for locating
lines of drnlnage. If such a field is
examined Immediately after a heavy
rain, there will be little danger of
making n mistake In locating the lines.
If these are nt once marked out by a
DIAGRAM OF A LINE OF LEVELS.
BEAVER AN EXPERT WORKER
Little Animal Excels Lumber Jacks as
Tree-Fellers and Is a Prize
Dam Builder.
“The most expert lumber jack Is In
ferior to the beaver as a tree-feller. lie
cuts down trees in the most scientific
way. He can fell a tree so It will full
toward the pond where he wishes to
construct his home, thus saving him
self unnecessary work.
“After the trees are felled the con
struction work begins. He works chief
ly by night, for he Is a nocturnal prow
ler. The moon Is hls lantern, the
quiet of the night hls inspiration, his
sharp teeth are his hatchet and chisel,
and hls little paws are his means of
conveyance, his spade, his hammer ani
his trowel. His hard, flat, hairless
and scaly tall Is a propeller when
swimming and a balance when he is
cutting timber, for he stands on his
bind legs while gnawing down trees.
“The beaver is a strict vegetarian
and his diet consists chiefly of barks,
tender shoots and water plants. The
trees which furnish the bark he most
likes are the cottonwood, poplar, elm,
willow, birch, aspen and boxelder. The
bark of the oak, ash and hickory he
does not eat.
“To flood low ground, the beavers
sometimes have to build a dam ex
ceeding 50 feet In length. They usual
ly lay it out with the curve facing
UD-stronm. The foundation is built of
furrow or stakes. It will save much
time when it Is desired to begin lay
ing tiles.
Any drainage system should be
planned with reference both to the
work it is to perform and to its future
maintenance. Expense should not r*e
spared in securing accurate duta on
which to base the plan.
It Is well to maintain the shallow
open-ditch system. In use before the
tile are laid. These surface-drains as
sist in quickly clearing the land of
water from heavy rains, in amounts
for which It would not be economical
to provide tile of sufficient size to do
the work so quickly. In Minnesota,
spring floods ore often carried off oy
the surface drulns before the frost Is
out sufficiently to permit tile-drains
to work. Time spent In opening sur
A FARM PROFITABLY TILED.
On this 80-acre field three systems of
tile drainage were necessary. This
shows the advantage with which two
neighbors can co-operate in putting
in a line of tile. An obstacle so
trivial as a line fence should not be
permitted to prevent economical
drainage. The owner of this land
says that tile pays for itself every
year and that $200 expended on tile
has raised the value of the 80 acres
$1,000.
face-drains Is not, therefore, lost, even
when it Is Intended to later Introduce
an underdrainage system.
The Individual farmer with small
means should first select the area the
tiling of which will drain the most
land at the least expense. In a rolling
country, where sufficient fall can be
had for outlets near the surface, or
without expensive open ditches, small
I tiles can be used around the sides of
drainage areas outlettlng on a hillside
or at the edge of a slough. Thia
method often Improves large tracts at
small cost, and as the Improved lands
Increase In productiveness, funds will
be supplied by which the tile lines
can be extended, connected, and the
expensive mains finally put in. This
method has been used in many of the
best tiled countries. In some instances
it has been twenty years from the lay
ing of the first laterals to the comple
tion of the last main.
Immediately after construction, pro
vision should be made for annual
maintenance. A drainage improve
ment, properly carried out and main
tained, will add its Initial cost to the
value of the land and pay a dividend
on the original Investment.
poles, four or five feet long by an
inch or two thick. These they lay
crosswise, filling all crevices with mud.
“The beaver digs up mud with his
fore feet, then holds It close to his
breast with hls fore legs, swims to
where he has started hls dam, and,
having deposited it in Its proper place,
beats the mud down with his paws—
not with hls tall as has been believed.”
—St. Nicholas.
Comparison.
“Dr. Isaiah B. Scott, Methodist bish
op of Africa,” said a Methodist divine,
“collected In Monrovia a great deal of
valuable ethnological matter.
“Talking about cannibalism one day.
Bishop Scott declared:
“ ‘Your cannibal Is not wicked. He
eats other people as you and I go to
church —in order to Improve himself—
for he has been taught that he will ac
quire the virtues —the bravery, beauty,
wisdom and what not—of all those
whom he eats.”
Bishop Scott chuckled.
“A savage cannibal,” he ended, “Is a
saintly chap alongside of a civilized
backbiter.’ ”
Too Severe.
Doctor —Your husband needs some
good exercise to restore him.
Mrs. X—Like playing golf?
Doctor —More violent than that.
Mrs. X —l have It! I’ll send him
down to make a few purchases at the
bargain counter during the rush hours.
Happenings in
the Metropolis
New York Firemen Doing Their Own Cobbling
|EW YORK. —That the members of the New York fire department are a
I versatile set of men and can readily turn their hands to many things
N'
other thnn fighting fires has been demonstrated on a number of occasions, but
perhaps one of the most recent diver-
boots. The sores are made from discarded or damaged fire hose. Smalt
sections of such hose can be picked up at almost any junk shop for a few
cents. A sound piece the size of the sole desired is selected, cut open ant
flattened out. It is then roughened and the surface of the sole of the boot
also is made rough, in order that the cement which is then applied, will ad
here more firmly. For this purpose a regular rasp is used. When the cement
is set the sole is shaped and trimmed.
The firemen cobblers also make their own cement. A lump of natural
rubber is dissolved in a bottle containing naphtha. It must stand about two
weeks before being ready for use.
“This work is not difficult to do,” said one of the firemen, who was busily
engaged in soling a pair of boots, “after you once get the knack. You see, all
that Is necessary is a piece of oltV hose, a rasp, a sharp knife and a bottle of
cement.”
At this moment an alarm rang in, and with the first stroke of the gong
the firemen cobblers dropped their tools and in an instant were on the sliding
pole, and a second later were at their places on the autotruck as It dashed out.
There Isn’t Much Square About Times Square
■ O BEGIN with, they call it Times square, but owing to the fact that it is
Infested day and night by taxicab and hat-check bandits a lot of people
T
fail to see much square about it. As a matter of fact, it Isn’t square at all.
It’s a triangle. Aside from being noted
for the Hotel Astor and the Times
building. It is famous ns having been
the scene of the Rosenthal shooting
and the headquarters of the Forty
second Street Country club.
The Forty-Second Street Country
club is largely composed of actors, and
Its other members haven’t any money,
either. They are the kind of actors
who speak of the “Rialto,” but whose
theater of operations is Broadway
sidewalk and who are regarded with
deep suspicion by bartenders and the custodians of the freeluuch counters.
Those who aren’t actors are promoters, promoting a sidewalk loan having
been developed to a high state of efficiency by these members.
Many of those persons who frequent the square and Its side streets
become victims of an affliction characterized by the diagnosticians of the
detective bureau as the “Gimmes,” also known scientifically to the bacteriolo
gists of the district attorney’s office as the “Lemrnes”—“Gimme” this and
“Lemme” that.
Times square is also the habitat of the New York Rocky Mountain sheep,
which leaps thirstily from bar to bar, only to conclude the performance at
the bar of the night court later on.
The night court is largely maintained for the benefit of the denizens of
the Tenderloin who cannot bear to remain behind bars for any length of
time. They only feel at home when draped gracefully in front of the ma
hogany kind.
Fishing for Daphnias Is Hoboken’s Newest Sport
ISHING for daphnias has become one of the popular outdoor sports as
well ns one of the established industries of Hoboken. From miles around
F 1
the fishermen and fishermalds gather in the “mile-square city” every Sunday
store which has undertaken to supply
the ever-growing demand for daphrias. The chief requisite for a good daph
nia fisherman is eyesight so keen as to enable him to distinguish his catch
from the mosquito larvae, for the dnphnia is a minute form of shellfish, which
is sometimes referred to as still-w*ter fleas. The single daphnia when full
grown is often as large ns the head of a pin, and is composed, so the encyclo
pedia says, chiefly of animal protoplasm. It gathers in clusters on the surface
of the pools.
Although the daphnia cannot bo found on the menu of any restaurant,
it constitutes the chief article of diet for certain types of tropical fishes
which are being bred extensively in home aquariums in this country. It
was less than n decade ago that the fad of raising these little alien fishes
was introduced here, but in that time it has attained a nation-wide popularity
that seriously threatened the reign of the ordinary goldfish as the king of pis
catorial pets in the American home, and that, mind you, in spite of the
unpronounceable names given to some of the little finny creatures, as, for
Instance, Girardinus guppyi, Platypecelia, Xiphophorus helleri, Danio rerlo,
Girardinus reticulata and Phalloptycus janqarius.
Kissing Bees in the Grand Central Station
• HERE is more kissing at the Grand Central station at certain times of the
1 year than there is probably in any other place on earth.
T
girls participate, and there is every variety of osculation, from the one-minute
brand to the sisterly kind. The times
of the year are when the college stu
dents and the girls in the private
schools are returning from their holi
day vacations and meet in the station.
Then, radiant, enthusiastic, bubbling
femininity meets and smacks.
There are a few cold-blooded
maidens from Boston who sniff at the
Dsculatory art and give frigid pecks as
token of their joy at seeing their
friends again; but the warm-hearted
ones make the station resound llk<%
popping of champagne corks and utter a chorus of “You darling thing. I’m
so glad to see you again,” and “Oh, you dear, It’s so sweet to see you once
more.”
Occasionally some Yale students will arrive in the station in the midst
of the kissing bee, and they will groan audibly. They stand around with
their eyes glued to the many cupld bows which are bestowing kisses so
extravagantly and wonder despairingly why women are so wasteful. The
girls look at them out of corners of their eyes and go on kissing harder than
ever.
The ordinary passengers watch the performance almost stunned, but th«
girls pay no more attention to them than if they were so many pests. It la
dav. and they don’t care wh© knows it.
sions since the high cost of living,
one that tends to reduce considerably
their expenses, is the repairing of
their own boots.
Almost every engine and truck
house in the department has a few
members in the company able to do a
little cobbling. At the headquarter*
of hook and ladder company No. 40.
One Hundred and Twenty-fourth street
and Hancock place, are three firemen
who are expert in resoling rubber
morning to skim with their fine
meshed nets the pools where the daph
nias abound.
The daphnia pools are situated in
the filled-in ground on the extreme
western boundary of the Jersey town
at the foot of the slope •which sepa
rates Hoboken from Jersey City
Heights. Hovering about the shores
of these pools on certain days of the
week may be found the agile repre
sentative of a New York department