MAINTAINING SOIL FERTILITY 291 



ready to transplant when two to four years old. 

 In many cases it may only be necessary to dig wild 

 seedlings. Seedlings two to four years old are often 

 found in great numbers on the outskirts of wood- 

 land. Set all plants, whether seedlings or cuttings, 

 not more than three feet apart each way, giving 

 5,000 to 7,000 per acre. In some cases it may be 

 well to make a first planting of the quick-growing 

 softwood trees, and plant the hardwood trees 

 later. 



Directing Water. Much may be done to check 

 erosion bv directing the water into legitimate 

 channels, instead of allowing it to meander over the 

 fields, making channels that broaden and deepen 

 with each rain. Careful farmers spend consider- 

 able time in their fields during and after heavy 

 rains, guiding, checking, and diverting the rivulets. 

 In most fields there are a number of depressions, 

 or natural water courses, that should be kept free 

 of obstructions. 



Terracing. One of the most common en- 

 deavours to check erosion in the South is by ter- 

 racing. Much of the farm land in Georgia, Ala- 

 bama and the Carolinas is terraced. The slope 

 is laid off into a series of checks which follow the 

 contour, giving a series of nearly perfectly level 

 steps upon which water may remain and be ab- 

 soroed. The width of these varies from 50 to 300 

 feet. The banks of the terrace are usually sodded 

 or seeded with grass. The land between me banks 

 is brought to an approximate level, sometimes by 

 scraping but more commonly by moving it down 

 hill gradually with a reversible plow; it often 

 requires several years to bring the surface into a 

 level condition. 



Side-hill Ditches. Another method is to build 



