Alkali Lands. Page: 16
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16
system of drains, preferably of underground tile drains. It is urged
against this idea that the land is not worth the cost of the investment
in putting in a system of tile drains. This, of course, is an economic
problem which is entirely dependent upon conditions of market, transportation
facilities, and other commercial considerations. It may or
may not be profitable at this time to protect the lands from destruction
and to reclaim those that have been destroyed. It may be cheaper to
move off into new areas, but the time will come, if it has not already
come, when the land in the Yellowstone Valley and in similar situations
will be worth the care and expense necessary to protect it from
ultimate destruction. The amount of money now invested in the Yellowstone
Valley is enormous, and the continuance of prosperity is
entirely dependent upon the care which is taken in the methods of irrigating
the lands. Property worth thousands of dollars may be ruined
in a few years and become utterly worthless. The experience in the
valley shows that this has been the case in the past, and there is much
uneasiness felt in regard to large areas which show signs of the rapid
spread of alkali.
EFFECT OF UNDERDRAINAGE IN REMOVING SALT.
There is abundant evidence that thorough underdrainage will reclaim
these lands, and if introduced in time will prevent any such disastrous
results as those which have been described. There has been no thorough
system of tile drainage tried, but a few efforts have been made
to reclaim the abandoned lands by open drains. That these have been
efficacious the following investigations will show:
A drainage ditch had been dug in the alkali flat on section 2, T. 1
S., R. 25 E., and the excess of water had been continuously removed
for some time before this investigation was made. A line of borings
was made from this ditch back about one-fourth mile to see how the
salt content had been changed. The results are given in the accompanying
table, which represents the per cent of soluble salt found at
different distances from this ditch.
Salt determinations at different distances from a drainage ditch.
Depth (feet). Boring45. Boring46. Boring47. Borig48.
Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent.
0-1................................ 0.047 0. 054 0.155 0.419
1-2 ... .. ............. . .030 .066 .164 .253
2-3 --.. ...................... .036 .112 .177 .257
3-4 . ............................... 031 .103 .213 .238
4-5.. ........ . ............. .045 .109 .191 .275
5-6 ................................ 045 .120 .191 .267
6-7 ................................ 043 .138 .225 .275
7-8 ................................ 043 .162 237 337
L ~7-8- .043 .162 .237 .337
Average040 .108 .194 .290
-Total pounds per acre 8 feet deep. 11, 200 30,280 54, 320 81 200
Boring 46 shows the amount of salt about 300 yards from the drainage
ditch. The next column shows the amount at about 100 yards from
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United States. Department of Agriculture. Alkali Lands., book, 1909; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc6394/m1/16/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.