THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 157 



than two feet high, and three feet wide on the top of it, and six 

 feet or more at the bottom. Let it all be smoothed off level, and 

 grass seed sowed on it. Allow it to settle for one year or more, 

 and then lay the stone wall directly on the top of this ridge. 



203. The object of the ridge of earth is, to save stone; and the 

 object of seeding with grass seed is, to prevent the rain from wash 

 ing it down; and the object of letting it settle one year or more 

 before the wall is laid on it is, to have the earth the entire length 

 of the ridge of a uniform density, so that the whole wall will set 

 tle uniformly. Other advantages of such a wall will be readily 

 perceived without mentioning them. 



HON. A. B. CONGER'S STONE WALLS. 



Hon. A. B. Conger, President of the N. Y. State Agricultural 

 Society, has forwarded me his mode of building stone walls, which 

 has been very successfully adopted by many other farmers in va 

 rious parts of the State. 



"I cast up a ridge with plows and shovels about eighteen 

 inches high, one foot or more wider on the top than the bottom 

 of the wall is to be made. This is done at any time before frost, 

 as opportunity offers. The bottom stone are then hauled on, 

 even in the winter, and placed in a line, without the usual filling 

 in with small stones, so as to have the benefit of being thoroughly 

 bedded in by the following spring, when they can be readjusted, 

 if necessary, to the line, and filled in ; and the " seconds " stones 

 of a smaller size than the bottom ones are placed upon them, 

 and the wall raised to three and a half feet high, without levelling. 

 After the foundation has been laid, the wall may be left to un 

 dergo another settling by the next winter frosts, and early in the 

 succeeding spring can be topped off and finished. In all cases 

 thorough draining of the ground where the wall is built is very 

 necessary for the security of the wall, otherwise water will be 

 absorbed and remain late in the season under the bed of the wall, 

 and so tend to its upheaval. 



"It may be added, that the strength of the wall and its durabil 

 ity will be materially assisted by the care of the builder in chink- 



