LAND DRAINAGE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4432, 26 June 1922, Page 4

LAND DRAINAGE.

NEW ZEALAND AND AMERICA. MR J. B. THOMPSON’S REPORT. No. 9. CONCLUSION. General. —The visit to the United States has been most coucational, both practically and professionally, and it would not be possible within this report to bring out the technical phases of the work inspected. The drainage work done in New Zealand does not suffer by comparison with that of the United States — in fact, the finish of. bur work, both as to ditches, sluices, bridges, and general utility, is not surpassed. As to expedition, there is no doubt that this feature is more prominent in. America. There dredges up to 3yards capacity are not uncommon, while those of 2% yards capacity are quite common. There there' is no problem of transport, because railways are everywhere, and contractors can move plant more easily two thousand miles than we can one mile. The same applies to lumber, coal, etc. Repairs are quickly effected,, due to engineering works being readily reached for repairs, and so forth. Then, again, there are many large firms of contracting drainage engineers with plants innumerable. One firm has thirty five floating dredges alone, and many own fleets of from ten to fifteen dredges. Other contractors concentrate on dry-land dredges. Thus the availability of

floaters, walkingdippers, and dragline excavators has quite dsiplaced hand labour, and no difficulty exists in putting a, job through expeditiously. Within our resources we have done remarkably well, and have no just cause for disappointment. It should not be overlooked that it is one thing to drain a, district, but quite another to also form all the roads throughout that district and bridge and culvert them.. No areas were seen in America under one authority that embraced so many operations as we have "to undertake. Here we take the raw land and develop it in all directions, and ultimately settle it. In the States one authority drains the land and another roads it. An exception exists in the case of the Everglades, 1 Florida, where the State is largely handling this project. The waterways through same are its main concern. Drainage has not yet beet reduced to an exact science, and tlie recasting of original schemes is going on daily in the United States, and will so continue. The general fault has been in ditches of too small a capacity and the consequent shrinkage of land. As land subsides, it must be followed up by deepening the drains. It is a slow process, and time is the essence of success with this class of Zork. Halfj of the operations seen in the United States consisted of redigging. A cool consideration of the facts, together with, personal observation, shows the settler- on the swamp lands of New Zealand as occupying an equally favourable position with his fellow-settlers overseas. Personal.—ln conclusion, the very hearty reception and facilities afford-

ed your responsible officer cannot be overrated, as it was thus possible to meet the most eminent drainage' engineers and authorities in Canada and the United States. These gentlemen supplied a very large quantity of literature and data, and arranged visits of inspection to the many works under their control. Mr. S. H. McCrory, Chief of Drainage Investigations, Washington, was very largely instrumental in making tne visit the success it was, and his valuable assistance is hereby acknowledged.