114 ^^16 ^^'« Material. [March, 



dropped in the first valley now, but the next shower that comes will 

 take it up again, and carry it on another step in its seaward journey, 

 until, in the lapse of ages, should water continue its action without 

 any counteracting force, the whole land would disappear in the 

 ocean depths, and the waves roll where now stand the ' cloud capped 

 towers, and gorgeous palaces ' of man. 



The richer and finer the soils, the more violent the wash ; and the 

 industrious agriculturist, who sees his finest soil, which he has pre- 

 pared with so much care, packing off towards the Gulf of Mexico, 

 may console himself with the reflection, that in the lapse of ages, 

 when the internal fire has elevated that portion above the sea again, 

 it will make most excellent soil for somebody. 'As the benevolence 

 of most people, however, does not extend so far into futurity, it be- 

 comes a matter of very great importance to know how to prevent 

 their lands from slipping out from under them. It will take grow- 

 ing crops alone, longer than is generally supposed, to exhaust a soil. 

 We may often look to the dashing rain as the thief which has stolen 

 our land's fertility. As there is scarcely a field which lies perfectly 

 level, the violent showers at least must have some effect upon it. 

 An inclination of a fraction of an inch to the mile, will impart a 

 perceptible motion to water. If it has a velocity of six inches per 

 second, it will raise fine sand ; eight inches, sand as coarse as linseed ; 

 twelve inches, fine gravel ; and twenty-four inches per second, will 

 roll along rounded gravel an inch in diameter. Fine mud will re- 

 main in water that h'as a very slight velocity, and may thus be carried 

 an indefinite distance. 



If we would prevent, then, the washing away of our soil, we 

 should make the land — where it will admit of it — perfectly level, 

 either by setting it off in steps; or if it is for hoed crops, let the rows 

 be so directed as to follow truly a horizontal line. Preventing the 

 wash will not be the only benefit of this practice. The summer 

 rains will sink into the soil, instead of running off, as from a duck's 

 back, and if the ground has been deeply plowed, it will furnish a 

 store of moisture for the long drouths. 



Hear what a careful observer— ^Col. II., of Cannon, of west Ten- 

 nessee— -says in regard to this matter : 



" This system of Level Rows and Level Culture has been called 

 mine. As a theory it is not mine. In theory, I know, it is not new, 

 and, for aught I know, it may date away back to ancient Babylon. 

 No claim of the kind, no paternity on my part, has ever been pre- 



