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ing the more impoverished to grow up in pines
and hawthorns. Intervening woods, old fields,
and swamps, frequently separate those cultivat
ed fields, for miles from the mansion house or
the negro quarter, where the stock congregate
at night to be fed. Is it wonderful, under this
view of the case, that the composting system
has been abandoned, as requiring too much la
bor, and affording too little profit, and that al
most every man’s land in the country has been
offered on sale, that more elbow-room might be
given to purchasers to rest their tired acres, and
give imployment to their rapid y increasing la
borers ?
Here dawned the advent of another system,
in which the purchase and application of concen
trated foreign manures was designed to take
precedence of the heavy home composts. The
first introduction of foreign manures into the
country, was, we believe, by Mr. Wm. H. Sayre,
who tried the effect of lime, plaster, poudrette,
and other fertilisers, on his lands, near Sparta.
This was before guano had attracted much pub
lic attention in this country. Dr. Terrell also
purchased a number of carboys of sulphuric
acid, in New York, with a view of manufacturing
super-phosphate of lime, by dissolving bones in
the acid. We never learned the result of his
experiments, but suppose ho came to the same
conclusion with the writer, (after destroying a
new pair of trousers), that it would not pay to
manufacture it in so small away, at the South.
The acid laid down cost us about five cents per
pound, and the bones a cent; so that the cost
of the raw material was greater than the manu
factured article. It makes a good fertiliser when
combined, especially with ammoniacal manures!
and will last much longer than the guano. Five
years ago, we applied a hundred pounds of su
per-phosphate of lime to a section of an acre,
on a poor, worn out clay soil, and sowed in wheat.
Every successive crop has been improved by it,
especially corn and peas—showing that, for this
class of lands, the super-phosphate is not only a
fertiliser, but an ameliorator.
We are not, by any means, opposed to the ju
dicious application of foreign manures. Wo
have always used them, to some extent, and
never fail to try anything that promises well for
remunerative crops; and, though there has been
much money spent for them, without correspond
ing returns, yet it is a progressive system; and,
we doubt not, the evils connected with it will
gradually be corrected, under the benignant influ
ence of the inductive philosophy. So various
are the soils we cultivate, and so diverse in the
quantum of soluble salts, as well as inorganic
elements, that, what might exhaust one, would
add an essential ingredient to another. We
must patiently await the slow processes of induc
tion, aided by the genial light of agricultural
chemistry; and, in the meantime, add all we
can to the accumulating mass of agricultural
knowledge, which is, even now, dispensing so
much food, and clothing, and solid happiness to
the children of want. P.
Sparta, Ga.
—
[Writton for the Southern Field and Fireside.]
ENTOMOLOGY THE CICADA.
Mr. Editor : This insect must not be con
founded with the locust, described by the Pro
phet Joel, in tho following eloquent language :
“ A fire devoureth them, and behind them a
flame burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden
before them; and behind them a desolate wilder
ness ; yea, and nothing shall escape them. Tho
sound of their wings is as the sound of chariots,
of many horses running to battle; on the tops
of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a
flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a
strong people sit in battle array. Before their
laces, the people shall be much pained, all faces
shall gather blackness. They shall run like
mighty men ; they shall climb tho wall like men
of war, and thoy shall march every one in his
ways, and they shall not break their ranks;
neither shall one thrust another.”
Tho insect thus mentioned is the grass-liopper
(Locusta Miyratoria,)- and not the one with
which we are all more or less familiar, and com
monly known by the name of locust, albeit his
proper name is Cicada. Tho Greeks speak of
it under the name of Tettix, while the Romans
called it Cicada, both of which names are erro
neously translated grasshopper. The grasshopper
belongs to an entirely different order. It would
be interesting to give an extended history of
this insect; but as my time will not allow me
that gratification, I must be content with simply
referring to a few simple anecdotes, Ac., and
trust to the indulgence of your readers for any
lack .of interest they may contain.
The cicada is celebrated for his song; but it is
not quite agreed among men whether it is worth
hearing or not. However, I may bo constrained to
admit, tliat according to my idea, it is not far in
ferior to some of tho fashionable singing we hear
on the staga now-a-days. Mr. White very tru
ly observes that “Sounds do not always give us
pleasuro according to their sweetness and melo
dy ; nor do harsh sounds always displease. Thus,
the shrieking of the field cricket (Acheta Campes
tris), thougli sharp and stridulous, yet marvel
lously delights some hearers, filling their minds
with a train of summer ideas, of any thing that
is rural, verduous and joyous.”
“Sounds inharmonious in themselves, and harsh,
Yet heard in scenes where peace forever reigns,
And only then, please highly- for their sake.”
CowrEß.
The Spaniards were so fond of the song of this
insect, that they would keep them in cages, as
we do singing birds, and in which, if supplied by
moistened green leaves, they will sing as merri
ly and loud as in the fields. But Swammerdam
seems to entertain a different notion of their mu
sic, he says: “I remember that I oijce saw a
whole field full of these singing crickets, each of
which had dug a hole in the earth, two fingers
deep, and then, sitting at the entrance thereof,
they made a very disagreeable noise with the
creaking and tremulous motion of their wings;
when they heard any noise they immediately re
tired with fright, into their little caverns.” So in
the case of the cicada, we find some to like, and
some to dislike his song.
“In the latter months of summer," says Dr.
Shaw, “especially from midday to the middle of
the afternoon, the cicada is perpetually stunning
our ears with its most excessive shrill and un
grateful noise. It is in this respect the most
troublesome and impertinent of insects, perch
ing upon a twig, and squalling sometimes two
or three hours without ceasing, thereby too often
disturbing the studies or short repose that is
frequently indulged in these hot climates, at
those hours. The Tettix of the Greeks must
have had quite a different voice, more soft,
surely, and melodious; otherwise, the fine orators
of Homer, who are compared to it, can be com
pared to nothing better than loud loquacious
scolds.”
IK* BSVXBXXB ras&ffl AX» KXiU&SIBK.
I think it was in ’4l or '42 that these insects
made their appearance in myriads in some parts
of Alabama and Georgia. I was residing in
Chambers county at the time, and remember
receiving much delight in noticing their move
ments. Their appearance was rather sudden;
tho pavements of the village, and even the hard
ground floors of the black-smiths’ shops, were
perforated by them ; and how they could make
these holes so round and smooth, is certainly a
mystery. In a short time they commenced their
song, nor did they select any particular part of
the day, but continued their incessant din from
early morn till late at eve. I subjoin a descrip
tion of the instrument with which they produce
their song, or more properly sound :
“It is only the male tree-hopper which is mu
sical, and for this purpose ho is furnished with
a pair of drums, one on each side, consisting of
two large plates, oval or circular in some, and
triangular in other species, fixed to the trunk
between the belly and hind legs. When this
extorior membrane is raised, a cavity is brought
into view, part of which seems to open into tho
belly, and another part to be covered with a
second membrane, much more delicate than the
exterior one, tensely stretched, and iridescent,
and in tho middle there is a horny plate, placed
horizontally along the bottom. All this, however,
seems only a secondary portion of the instrument;
for the sound is in the first instance produced by
a bundle of muscular strings, which aro attached
at one extremity to another membrane in the in
terior, obviously the true drum; for when Reau
mur pulled the strings and let them go again
the sound was produced even after tho insect
had been a long while dead. These muscles, in
deed, aro so attached to tho under concave sur
face of the drum, that when they pull it down
wards and let it jerk quickly back again, a vi
bration ia produced; the sound issues through
an opening contrived on purpose, like the open
ing in our own larynx, or the sound hole in a
violin."
I speak within the bounds of reason when I
say it is troublesome to hear one speak to you,
while riding through the forest, at the timo when
the cicada is doing his best I do not know
anything with which to compare their clatter,
unless it is the noise of tho looms in a cotton fac
tory.
There is another insect (Tettogonia Septemdecim,)
and which is said to visit Philadelphia in the
month of May, every seventeenth year; but
whether the two are identical or not, I cannat
say, though I believe it is the general opinion
that they are. The cicada; do not remain with
us for more than one or two weeks, and then
die; not, however, before depositing their eggs
for a future crop. These are placed under the
bark of tho tender branches of the chestnut and
other trees, which the insect has the power of
slitting for that purpose, where they remain till
the time of hatching out. As soon as this takes
place, the worm descends, enters the ground,
and there remains till ready for another egress.
Any one desirous of learning all its transforma
tions, Ac., would do well to consult some work
on entomology. Respectfully,
Y. LaTaste.
FRUITS IN JAPAN.
We make the following extract from a letter
of Towxsexd Harris, Consul General to Japan,
first published in the New York Tribune:
Very little attention is paid to the cultivation
of fruit in this country; the cherry and plum
tree produce magnificent blossoms : but they
bear very little fruit, and that little is worthless.
Peaches are far inferior to those at China, being
quite bitter, and the same remark will apply to
tho apricot.
I have seen only one variety of pears; they
are in all shapes and colors, and are quite like a
russet apple, but they are unfit to eat raw, and
when cooked are quite insipid.
Tho best grapes of Japan resemble the Cataw
ba in appearance, but are inferior to that variety.
The only fruit that I have seen in Japan, that
particularly merits notice, is the kali, a variety
of Diospyros, and belonging to the order of
Ebenacoe ; it is really worthy of being introduced
into the United States. Quite a number of sorts
have been brought to mo; one has a skin as thin
as tissue paper, and the pulp resembles tho
Egyptian fig in flavor. Another variety has a
thick rind, and a firmer pulp than tho sort first
mentioned, while the tasto strongly reminds one
of the flavor of the delicious mango of Siam and
Bombay. The tree is very ornamental, and of
rapid growth. It would, no doubt, succeed in
any part of the United States, South of thirty
seven degrees latitude. Unlike the persimmon
of the United States, there is very little astrin
gency in the skin of tho fruit; and frost, w-hieh
matures the persimmon, greatly injures the kali.
This fruit varies in size, but is always larger
than its American relative; and some are seven
inches in diameter. The fruit is in season near
ly three months. Tho Japanese dry this fruit,
which enables them to keep it for some four
months. When dried, it resembles the dried
Smyrna fig in taste.
1 send you a few seeds of the kali, under this
covering, thinking that they may possibly ger
minate, after they reach Washington, and know
ing that they will only cause a trifling addition
to the postage of my letter. I am, very respect
fully, Your obedient servant,
Towxsexd Harris, Consul General.
Hog Cholera ix Texxessee. —Tho Hunting
don (Tenn.) Patriot is informed that the hog chol
era is raging to a foarful extent in portions of
Carroll county. A farmer in Georgia, who has
tried it, says if hogs are put in a lot where they
will bo entirely excluded from water, that the
disease will qt once be arrested. We don’t know
how this may be, but at any rate it is worth a
trial.
We are inclined to regard much of the malady
denominated “ hog cholera” as being produced
by poisonous minerals dissolved in water, like
salts of arsenic, copper, lead, and antimony,
which are habitually taken into the system of
the animal with its drink, in fields and woods.
Having spent some months, for several years, in
Southern Illinois and Indiana, many years ago,
in districts where the milk sickness prevailed,
and seen much of it, we entirely agree with
those medical gentlemen who ascribe it to min
eral poisons drank by cows. Standing water
concentrates all it 3 earthy salts by solar evapora
tion, so that such as are poisonous increase in
a gallon of water, drank by a cow or hog, as the
volume of the liquid is diminished by standing
in the air and sun. The writer lost a fine breed
ing sow, not long since, that was poisoned from
eating mushrooms, or drinking bad water.
We shall be pleased to learn all we can in re
ference to the diseases of domestic animals,
their causes and prevention; and our agricultural
friends will render the farming interest an ac
ceptable service to write fully on the subject.
[From the American Planter and Soil.]
AN ESSAY ON HORIZONTAL PLOWING AND
HILL SIDE DITCHING.
BY X. T. SOESBY, X. D_, OF ALABAMA.
INTRODUCTION. *
It has been but a few years since tho subject
of this essay was brought to tho notice of tho
American fanner.
It now occupies an important, and a promi
nent position, among the scientific operations of
the Southern Farm.
It may be considered a new branch of agri
cultural science, founded upon correct and well
established principles of tho science of Engineer
ing and Hydraulics; and essential to the welfare
of tho farmer, to tho preservation of the soil, and
to good husbandry.
Forced, almost of necessity, and the strong
sense of self-interest and foresight, a few intel
ligent minds have been brought to discover the
urgent need of reforming the old destructive
system of plowing in straight rows up and down
hills, and of substituting the better mode of hor
izontal culture.
The absurdity of the old method is, really, a
subject of astonishment and mortification to those
who practice the new methods. The arable
lands of the South have been nearly exhausted
by it, and a careless and wasteful culture.
Tho beauty and simplicity of the principles
and practice, as well as the advantages of the
new methods, can only be realised, and brought
homo to the farmer and planter, but by observa
tion, study, and practice; and when once under
stood, they will wonder at their past folly of
land killing, and grieve to know they practiced
it so long, when a different, and better system,
is so easily learned and pursued.
When wo reflect upon the disasters to the
soil, occasioned by the pursuit of the old method,
and see the apparent apathy to, and indifference
with which the more perfect and better system
is viewed by some intelligent farmers and plant
ers, at the present enlightened era, and golden
age of agricultural science, we feel alarmed for
them, for their lands, and the succeeding genera
tions.
What a poor inheritance to hand down to an
industrious son, an old and dilapidated home
stead, with an old worn out, galled, and gullied
farm! Think of it, farmers and planters!
The very sight of decay all around, excites in
the mind of the young man disgust, despair, a
disposition to abandon the old place, once so dear
to him and the family, now so much abused, and
seek a newer and better place, richer land,
among strangers. lie has no desire to cultivate
the worn out old fields, and perhaps there is no
new land to clear. The old method of plowing
up and down hill, has much to answer for; it
has driven many a young man to the South
west, and, perhaps, eventually, to prison, or the
gallows, who might have been a useful citizen,
could he have remained at home and made a
living.
Whilst the horizontal culture and the ridge and
furrow system are attracting the attention, and
being adopted by intelligent planters and farmers,
its principles must be studied scientifically
and practically, and new discoveries in the art
applied, tested, and settled in the minds of men.
or else there will be no end to the diversity of
opinions that may arise, and lead to discussions
that may retard the advancement of the new
science.
It would require more time and space to elu
cidate the different methods of the horizontal
culture, as fully as some men may desire, per
haps.
We have endeavored to simplify it, and, should
some of my readers not comprehend it perfectly,
all w’e can say to them is, study the principles
laid down here, and then take the level, and fol
low" the plumb, and it will lead them over more
tortuous and obscure lines than we have penned
here, and a few horizontal rows run with pa
tience and care, will teach them more about it
than was ever dreamed of in our philosophy.
Our aim has been, in w riting this essay, to
collect together our ideas on this subject, to com
pare them with others, and deduce from them
correct principles, and upon these principles es
tablish, with fidelity, practical rules, and thus ac
complish by a general survey of the subject, and
a brief enumeration of the details founded upon
our own experience and observation, all that we
think the State Agricultural Society of North
Carolina requires of the writer.
HISTORY OF HORIZONTAL CULTURE.
We regret to state that we have not been able,
by a careful research of all the agricultural works
that we have been able to examine, in the Eng
lish and French languages, to find the origin of
this system of culture.
Mr. Thomas Jefferson, who was a close ob
server of improvements in agriculture, in a let
ter, dated “Monticello, 6th March, 1816,” says:
“My son-in-law, Colonel Thomas M. Randolph,
is, perhaps, the best farmer in the State; and by
the introduction of the horizontal method of
plowing, instead of straight furrows, lias really
saved this hilly country. It was running off in
the valleys with every rain, but by this process
we scarcely lose an ounce of soil.
“A rafter level traces a horizontal line around
the centre of the hill, or valley, at distances of
thirty or forty yards, which is followed by the
plow; and by these guide-liues the plowman
finishes the interval by his eyes, throwing the
earth into beds of six feet wide, with large wa
ter furrows between them. When more rain
falls than can be instantly absorbed, the hori
zontal furrows retain the surplus until it is all
soaked up, scarcely a drop ever reaching the val
ley below.
“Mr. Randolph has contrived also, for our
steepest hill-sides, a simple plan, which throws
the furrows always down hill. It is made with
two wings welded to the same bar, with their
planes at right angle to each other. The point
and the heel of the bar are formed into pivots,
and the bar becomes an axis, by turning winch
either end may be laid on the ground, and the
other, then standing vertically, acts as a mould
board. The right angle between them, howev
er, is filled with a sloping piece of wood, leaving
only a cutting margin of each wing naked, and
aiding in the office of raising the sod gradually,
while the declivity of the hill facilitates its fall
ing over. The change of the position of the
share at the end of each furrow, is effected
in a moment by withdrawing and replacing a
pin.”
It seems Colonel Randolph introduced this
method of plowing into Virginia, previous to
1816; as Mr. Jefferson states, he was acquaint
ed with it two or three years previous to writing
this letter.
This is the earliest notice that we have seen
of the use of the horizontal culture, as practiced
in the South at the present day. It would be
gratifying to know whence he introduced it,
and where it originated.
In “ Taylor's Arator,” published in Virginia,
in the beginning of this century, on the subject
of plowing hilly lands, it is stated “ that such
lands will admit of narrow ridges, as well as
level, by a degree of skill and attention so easily
attainable, that it has existed in Scotland above
a century past, under a state of agriculture other
wise execrable, and among the ignorant High
landers. It is effected by carrying the ridges
horizontally in such inflections as the hilliness
of the ground may require, curved, or zig-zag,
preserving the breadth. The preservation of
the soil is hardly more valuable than that of the
rain water in the successive reservoirs thus pro
duced to refresh the thirsty hill-sides, instead of
its reaching to, and poisoning the valleys.”
It is very strange, if this system was pursued
in Scotland so very long ago, that there is no
mention made of it in English works.
During an extensive tour, and residence of
over three years in Europe, from Great Britain
to Naples, Italy, through Holland, Belgium,
France, Switzerland, and parts of Germany, we
never saw, heard, or road of its being pursued in
any of thoso countries, as it is done here; and
we cannot conceive how it could have ever been
practiced in Scotland, and not kept up nowa
days.
In our travels throughout the United States,
wo have seen it pursued from Mississippi to
North Carolina We have been to Monticello,
several times, when a student at the University
of Virginia, and though remarking the produc
tiveness of the soil there, and around Charlottes
ville, we were too young to notice the mode of
culture, but we are sure we never saw a rafter
level, or any other level, applied to land in Vir
ginia. Had we seen it, we should have noticed
it, because we had followed it before wo went
thereto school, in 1836.
In “Thair’s Principles of Agriculture," a stand
ard Gorman work, in speaking of plowing ridges,
he says: “ The most advantageous disposition of
them that can be made on an inclined surface, is
to give them a horizontal, or standing direction;”
but he says nothing more on the subject. Had
he been acquainted with the method, as pursued
in the South, he would have written considera
bly on it.
We are inclined to believe the horizontal sys
tem of plowing is of Southern invention. We
are astonished at the fact, since tho Southern
planters and farmers have the reputation of be
ing such careless, and wasteful cultivators of the
soil.
Wo consider it the most important discovery
of the modem agricultural era. So important is
it to the South, and to the soil in every part of
the world, where it rains like it does here, that
the discoverer of the method deserves the lasting
gratitude of the Southern people, and a place
upon the tablet of memory next to that of the
father of our country.
Hill-side ditching and guard-drains, were dis
covered subsequent to the Origin, or introduc
tion, of the horizontal system into Virginia.
They were first introduced into that State soon
after the introduction of the horizontal method
—about 1815, or 1816; by whom, we do not
know.
Tho first written notice of the horizontal cul
ture, and hill-side ditching, that we ever saw,
was in the pages of the Southern Cultivator.
Maj. E. D. W., our step-father, introduced the
method of horizontal plowing on the level sys
tem, in this country, in the spring of 1834.
He had read a notice of it in some paper, which
induced lnm to try it on some hilly land at the
Dial Place.
He used the rafter-level, and plumemt-line, and
ran off rows to be plowed four feet apart into
beds, for com and cotton. We were a boy then,
and carried the hoe, and made the chop marks
for him. He was so well pleased with the re
sults of it, and with his experiment, that he has
continued it ever since, with great success, in
two plantations. He lias a thousand or more
acres under the plumb. He has'tested it thor
uuglily, and has pr»e«rved tlm fertility, retained
the soil, and improved his lands, aided by a pro
per application of manures, under a severe course
of cropping. Without this system, all the manure
he could make would not preserve half of the
land in its present state of fertility for five years.
He would as soon abandon planting as to aban
don tho horizontal system of culture.
We have assisted him in the work a good deal,
and induced him to try guard-drains and hill
side ditches, about 1851, or 1852, in order to
lighten his labor, and lessen his care and atten
tion to it, as he is getting old, and the confine
ment to the field and the exposure to the cold
during the winter and spring, are injurious to
his health. But, he says, “ho could dispense
with the drains and ditches, if he could attend
to the plowing in person every spring, and di
rect the work, and correct tho errors of the pre
vious year’s work.”
An old negro liorizontaler lays off the rows,
and attends to one plantation, where there are
between six and seven hundred acros under the
plumb; and manages it astonishingly well, for a
man of his understanding.
His lands were originally of a good quality,
and are of a mixed character. On one planta
tion, the grey and mulatto sandy land prevails,
the subsoil being yellow and red clay, a foot and
eighteen inches originally, in parts of it, beneath
tho surface soil. The balance of the land is a
chocolate loam, on a red clay subsoil. Some of
it is considered stiff red clay land. On the other
plantation, the chocolate loam prevails with a
close, stiff red clay subsoil, requiring a long and
sharp-pointed plow to penetrate it when moder
ately dry. The rest of the land on this planta
tion is grey and gravelly, sandy soil, loose and
porous. Most of the land, on both places, is
gently undulating ridges; some of it hilly, and
some knolls. The stiff red clay land is the most
difficult and expensive to cultivate, and is the
best land for grain. It is also the most difficult
of bis land to manage, on tho level method of
culture. •
I took my first lessons under him in the sci
ence, and owe him a debt of gratitude which
can never be paid. He taught me the level
culture, and I taught him the grading method.
I commenced planting in 1844, in Hinds couutv,
Mississippi, near Jackson, in copartnership with
a brother. The level culture, No. 1, and the
grading method, No. 1, both combined, without
drains and hill-side ditches, had been in use a
few years on that plantation. The soil, a close,
tenacious, marly clay, of a yellow color, changing
into an ashy colored soil, when thoroughly dis
integrated and cultivated a year or two. I was
partial to the level culture, and he to the grading
method. I found out, after a better acquaintance
with the land, that the level culture retained the
water too long, and made the land too wet for
cotton. The grading method drained, but wash
ed the land a good deal After testing both me
thods to my satisfaction, I gave into his views,
rather from an avaricious motive than otherwise,
to make better crops, though at a sacrifice of
some land that took to the streams, and disap
peared. From one to three inches fall were giv
en to each row, when practicable, and the short
inside rows plowed on a level. The land w-* 8
rolling, and drains between the ridges conveyed
tho water into ditches and branches. We con
tinned both systems, until I left in Pecember,
1850, and moved back to this place The grad
ing method has been kept up b/ him. I com
menced a mixed system here i» 1851, and have
practiced both of them, to a certain extent.
My land is chocolate and sandy land, on
a red and yellow clay subsoil. The grey land
is of a fine texture, and much of it runs together
and bakes. The chocolate land is loose and jk>
rous. It is generally a little undulating, some
rolling, and some flat basias and ponds. It re
quires much ditching and surface drainage, and
some under draining. Forest growth, pine, oak,
hickory, chestnut, and poplar, with a variety of
undergrowth.
My experience and observation teach me that
the level culture is the best method ever discover
ed to prevent arable land, of the majority of soils
in the South, from washing by rains, but not the
best always to secure good crops. The grading
method is the safest, as a general rule, for the
culture of cotton, and can be pursued to a great
advantage on many soils that could not be culti
vated well on the level method, when one is
willing to lose a little soil, to make a better crop,
by draining the land. No one system of culture
is, then, applicable to all soils; and on large
plantations of mixed soils both the level and
grading systems should be applied. He is a for
tunate man who understands the different me
thods well enough to apply them to the best ad
vantage to the different soils, on a large planta
tion. It requires close application to field study,
a good knowledge of the geology of the soil, and
the agricultural character of tho land, with years
of experience, to know how to cultivate land
to tho best advantage to the soil, and to the in
creased size of the purse.
(to bk continued.)
[Written for tho Southern Field and Flreslde.l
IMPROVEMENT OF LANS.
Tho first step toward the permanent improve
ment of land, is to retain as much of tho virgin
soil as is practicable—not an easy undertaking,
on broken land, with our culture and very heavy
spring rains. This can be done in no way,
within our knowledge, so effectually as by a ju
dicious system ofhill-side ditching and horizon
tal culture. True, there are other important
considerations, yet, they are secondary to this.
A great deal has been written on the subject
of hill-side ditching, and the diversity of opinion
in reference to tho details is well calculated to
befog the inexperienced. A greater difference
prevails in practice than in theory. You will
rarely find two farmers, (in the same neighbor
hood,) cultivating the same character of land,
who will agree as to the requisite fall for a hill
sido ditch. 'And if they do, perchance, agree in
this most important detail, there are others of
scarcely secondary importance, about which they
totally disagree. Too much is frequently claim
ed by its advocates, for this important Art in
Agriculture. The new beginner tails to realize
his sanguine expectations, and abandons the
undertaking without giving it a half trial. He
has been taught to expect too much from too little
labor. I would teach him that the price of un
gullied hills is eternal vigilance, and that they
are cheap at the price. He who thinks the
battlo is done when the ditch is dug, will surely
awake to a delusion; for he has but made a good
beginning. When I see the ditches and rows,
in a great many fields, I often wonder that the
system has as many followers as it has and
unless we are better instructed, and by more
practical men, it will lose a great many of its
present advocates. Indeed, there are already
intelligent men, in my neighborhood, plowing
over their ditches, and others who ought to be
plowing over theirs. For instance, he who gives
his ditch six inches fall to ever}' twelve feet
had better fill them up as soon as he can, or
overy ditch will soon be the unsightly gully it
is intended to prevent. Most of my neighbors,
who ditch at all, give six inches fall to twelve
feet, or two thousand six hundred and forty inch
es, or two hundred and twenty feet in one mile.
Nature gave the Mississippi river about two
inches fall to the mile. Ido not advocate two
inches fall to the mile for a ditch ; but by com
parison we may form some idea of the rapidity
with which our ditches carry off the water.—
Now, this immense fall is given to avoid the
little labor of scraping out the ditch two or three
times a year. The nearer a ditch approximates
a level, the more surplus water will it catch, or
the more land w'ill it protect; hence, tho least
possiblo fall w hich will carry off the water is
the best. The requisite fall may vary as
land varies; yet, as a rule, I would say three
inches fall to every twelve feet is a plenty.
The distance between your ditches will, of
course, vary with the land, depending on the
steepness of tho hill and the capacity of
the land to absorb water. My experience is—
contrary to that of a great many—that tlie ditch
requires more fall on sandy, than on clay land.
On sandy land the water that reaches the ditch
carries with it more or less of the sand; hence
there is a constant tendency to fill up the ditch’
and owing to the porous soil there is less surplus
water; hence, it requires more fall to clean itself.
Or. clay, land there is an equal tendency to
wash out the ditch, owing to the increased vol
ume of w'ater, the land absorbing but little, and
the smaller quantity of soil carried to the ditch
by surplus water. Ditches may require to be
nearer together, or deeper, on clay, than on
sandy land, but they do not require as much
fall. Ditches should be scraped out thoroughly
three times a year-just before the crop is plant
ed, after it is “ laid by,” and after it is gathered.
As an additional precaution, it would be well to
go around and examine, them after every heavy
tall of rain, and mend the broken places, if there
are auy. Now, all this will require a good deal
less labor than any one, who has never done it,
would suppose.
I have attempted to give as many of the most
important items in ditching as is necessary here;
of the minutiie, tho planter must judge for him
self, relying always on common sense. I will
only add, that it would be best so ditch land be
fore a plow is ever put in it; there are then no
gullies to contend with, and less irregularities
in every respect; if too late for this, I would
ditch after a crop of small grain. Any one will
perceive that he is doing an inaccurate business
when running a rafter level across com or cot
ton beds, or on freshlyplowed land.
Next in order, and of more importance, to the
ditch, is level culture. Instead °f trying to
convey as much water as into the ditch
es, try to keep all out yau can. This object
can be best attained by miming the rows on a
level. With the rafter level, lay off a few' guide
rows on each hill-sid*—»y thirty or forty yards
apart, and the intermediate rows will not vary
far from a levei There are but few rains
heavy enough t° AH up corn or cotton rows fast
er than the ground absorbs the water. What
the ground cannot take up the ditch is intended
to carry off, and no more. The practice of try
ing to make every row carry off the water that
falls in it prevails to a great extent, and I con
sider it a pernicious one. Every drop of rain
w'ater that runs off from the field carries with
it some fertilizing material. If any one row fails
to convey the water off, a gully is commenced,
and each row below empties its water in it,
adding fuel to'fire. It is generally a year before
the rows can be changed, and in that time they
have done great mischief. I consider hill-side
ditching and level culture combined the first
step to the permanent improvement of land.
Stewart Co., Ga. Hurricane.
39
