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FARMERS' REGISTER— HILL-SIDE DITCHES. 



the surface, so that the sun may kill it. It also 

 keeps the surface smooth and level, and thereby 

 prevents hilly land irom washing. It is some- 

 what like the harrow in this resi^ect ; and the 

 greatest advantage of this plough is, that it goes 

 over so much ground in the day, and enables you 

 repeat it so frequently. I cultivated al)out thirty 

 acres of blue grass land in corn this last summer, 

 1833, in the Pamunky mode, and after every 

 ploughing and hoeing, as before mentioned, I ran the 

 double shovel about four or live times in each row 

 of corn ; and it completely eradicated the blue 

 grass, and left the land clean for wheat. 



For tlie Farmers' Register. 

 ON HILL-SIDE DITCIIES^TO PRETEXT THE 

 WASHING OF BROKEN LAND. 



For the last four or five years my best reflec- 

 tions have been given to the subject of resusci- 

 tating our broken down lands, and preserving 

 those not already exhausted, by a system of culti- 

 vation tlie most improvident and niggardl}'. It will 

 be at once perceived that I allude to the custom in 

 middle Virginia of cutting down our best lands 

 and cultivating them successively in tobacco, com, 

 wheat, oats, &c. until the gullies are too deep to 

 plough over, and the intermediate spaces too poor 

 to bring black-eyed peas. This maybe consider- 

 ed by those unacquainted with the habits of our 

 forefixthers, as an exaggerated picture; while all 

 those who live in this section of country, know it 

 to be a melancholy fact. 1 am happy to say, hoiv- 

 ever, that this practice, as well as the policy which 

 dictated it, is rapidly growing into disrepute, 

 and that now an enlightened and liberal spirit of 

 inquiry is abroad in our land, crying, " who shall 

 shew us any good in the way of improvement?" 

 And permit me here to say, Mr. Editor, that your 

 excellent periodical is admirably calculated, not 

 only to increase that spirit of inquiry, but to en- 

 courage and facilitate us in the march of agricultu- 

 ral improvement. For myself, I must say that I 

 have not only been highly entertained, but mani- 

 festly profited by the perusal of every individual 

 number. And, while I am highly pleased with 

 these salutary indications of brighter days in the 

 system of agriculture of middle Virginia, I feel 

 constrained to acknowledge that, amongst the va- 

 rious expedients adopted to produce these results, 

 the one with which I have headed this communi- 

 cation, meets with my unqualified disapprobation. 

 I trust, therefore, that the suggestions I shall urge, 

 if they have not the force to dissuade those who 

 have already embarked in this system to desist, 

 they will at least have the tendency to induce those 

 who have not yet commenced, to ponder well the 

 consequences of a system, if not manifestly injuri- 

 ous, at least of very doubtful propriety. It woidd 

 be remarkable indeed, if when the public mind is 

 imder a high state of excitement upon any subject 

 whatever, heresies should not creep in and attain 

 almost the currency of well grounded truths. I 

 am not at all surprised then, that where the wliole 

 county are crying, who shall shew us the best way 

 to stop gullies, that even well informed men (upon 

 most subjects,) should come forward, and tell us, 

 that the very best way to stop a gully, is to make a 

 gully ; or in other words, if you wish effectually 

 ;;ully, make ten — for this is about 



observation. So fashionable is it becoming to 

 make gullies in this part of the country, that I liave 

 actually seen fields, comparatively level, that have 

 been cleared and regularly scourged for more years 

 than I have yet lived, carefully and regularly 

 ditched all over; not forsooth, that they /ja</ wash- 

 ed, but because they might wash. In these stric- 

 tures there is not the sliglitest disrespect designed 

 towards tlie author of a well written communica- 

 tion on this subject in your November No. of the 

 Register : for I am pleased to acknowledge him 

 both as an acquaintance and friend, and trust then 

 our remarks will have no other effect than to elicit 

 the truth: that being established, I shall rest con- 

 tent, whether found in favor, or against a system so 

 obnoxious to me. 



After these general remarks, I shall now endea- 

 vor to enumerate my objections s})ecifically to the 

 practice of horizontal ditching. And, first, I object 

 to it because there is a useless waste of land in lay- 

 ing off the trenches : at least six feet being required 

 for each trench; that is to say, trench three feet, 

 bank two, and one iooi on tlie op]X)site side not 

 cultivated, for fear of filling up the trench. Now, 

 in a field regularly laid off in this way, at least one 

 acre in ten will be taken up in trenching. For exam- 

 ple ; the field of Mr. Brucc's, referred to in his com- 

 munication, containing two hundred acres, would 

 yield up twenty acres for the security of the re>- 

 maindei- ; and this, at the usual rale of product for 

 good highland, say five barrels of corn per acre, 

 shows a clear loss of one hundred barrels in the 

 product of the field. This proves a heavy tax upon 

 the best jwssible improvement. This calculation 

 is not designed to be entirely acciH^te ; but on ex- 

 amination it will be found not far from the truth. 

 Again, these trenches are made for every thirty 

 yards ; and of course all the water that falls in a 

 hard rain between the trenches must run into them ; 

 not along the whole length of the trench, but in 

 separate rills, or small bodies, for this is the nature 

 of water. Of course then, it must carry in some 

 of the adjacent soil. And where does it carry it? 

 Not into the bottoms to make them wider and 

 richer, but into the muddy branch or swelling' 

 stream. For, if there is not a ditch in the bottoms, 

 tlie water from all these trenches emptied into 

 them, will soon make one. It seems then that 

 trenches must impoverish the land immediately 

 above them, whatever Mr. Skipwith,or anyone 

 else may say about not losing a pound of soil. But 

 this is not all. I object to the j>ractice because it 

 presents considerable obstacles in getting off the 

 crop. For where they are made as deep as Mr. 

 Skipwith's, a multitude of bridges are absolutely 

 necessary, and they are both expensive and trou- 

 blesome ; and when they are not so deep, you are 

 compelled to throw in timber, in order for the 

 carts to pass over — some of which are almost cer- 

 tain to be left in the trenches after the crop is gath- 

 ered, and then the first hard raiii that comes, breaks 

 out and causes double destruction, owing to the 

 accumulation and velocity of the water in the 

 trenches. Tell me nothing about these obstruc- 

 tions being carefully removed in time to prevent 

 injury in this way. I know full well the practice 

 of overseers and negroes in this respect, and firmly 

 believe that universal injury is sustained in this 

 way — for I have seen fields literally torn to pieces^ 

 after the crop was taken off, from tliis neglect. It 



to stop one gully, make ten — for this is about the 



proportion made, to one stopped, according to my the carter finds a shallow place in the trench that 



