Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 61, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 March 1911 — MANY ACRES SAVED [ARTICLE]

MANY ACRES SAVED

Minnesota Swamps Are Turned Into Productive Farms. One-Fifth of Total Area of State of Minneibta la to Be Reclaimed, According to Report of Drainage Commission. St. Paul, Minn.—Reports of the state drainage commission on work done in Minnesota from August 1,1898, to August 1, 1910, have been placed in the hands of the legislature. -The commission estimates that Minnesota had originally 10,000,000 acres of swamp lands, \oo wet In their natural condition for agricultural purposes. This vast area, comprising about ane-flfth of the land of the state,. Is fast being transformed from swamp lands to productive farms. Conservative estimates place the total area reclaimed during 1909 and 1910 at 1,500,000 acres. Ditches are constructed by the state and by the various counties. These are made by the drainage commission only where such ditches will benefit state lands, incidentally private lands are also benefited, and in such cases the cost is defrayed In ipart by assessing private lands according to the benefits. Lands owned by railroad companies are assessed like private lands. During 1909 and 1910 the commission has constructed or has had under (instruction 15 state ditches, having an aggregate length of 460 miles, requiring an excavation of 6,828,378 cubic yards, costing 8605,873.30, or an average of 8.8 cents per cubic yard. These ditches will drain and reclaim 141,144.63 acres of state land and 403,640.81 acres of private lands at an average cost of $1.25 per acre. The policy of the commission has been to drain only such lands as Immediately will become available for agricultural uses and lands requiring little clearing or other expense to bring under cultivation. The work to a large extent has been confined to localities In tho proximity of railroads and trade centers and open meadows and marsh lands, the commission avoiding as far as practicable the drainage of lands where life of valuable growing timber would be endangered. In the construction of ditches, public highways were constructed along the side of the ditch from the earth excavated from the ditch, wherever such construction was practicable. When drainage work contracted for in the years 1909 and 1910 la completed, there will be 400 miles of graded roads along the several ditches, constructed at & small additional coat, the average cost being not more than one-half a cent per cubic yard, or $75 per mile of road. The commission, with the co-opera-tion of the United States geological survey, has made a topographical survey of a large area In Ottertatl, Douglas, Grant. Traverse, Stevens, Pope, Swift and Big Stone counties. The same two departments have made surveys of the following waters In the state, for the purpose of devising plana for their Improvements and preparing estimates of the cost of the work, to the end that drainage work may be facilitated and disastrous overflows prevented: Parts of the Minnesota, Mnstlnka, Watowan, Embarrass, Redwood. Cedar, Chippewpi, Long Prairie and Wild Rice rivers; Stony brook. Benton county; Okabena creek. Jacksen -county; a channel through Pierce, Clayton. Bright and Turtle lakes, and Mllle Lacs lake. Plans, estimates and ■pacifications at these proposed Im-

provements have been prepared and furnished the counties affected thereby. ” The legislature of 1909 appropriated $200,000 for the use of the state drainage commission. The commission Bays that If It again receives such a fund it will be able to drain practically all undrained state swamp land available at the present, time for agricultural purposes. Anticipating further appropriations, the commission haa caused surveys to be made and maps, plana and estimates prepared for several systems of ditches, which, if constructed, will drain 100,000 acres of state land and fully double that amount of private lands. All of this will become available immediately for agricultural purposes. ~+- The state drainage commission consists of Governor Eberhart, State Auditor Iverßon and Secretary of State Schmahl. George A. Ralph is Btate drainage engineer.