clay soils lighter and more porous, so that they 

 absorb more water, and absorb it much faster. 



Deep plowing increases the depth of the soil 

 that can nold mm water, so that less runs off on 

 top. Shallow plowing makes the soil reservoir 

 shallow, so that rains quickly fill it, spill over it, 

 and run down the surface. The one-negro-one 

 mule-one-shallow-working-plow combination is re- 

 sponsible for much of me washing of Southern 

 hill farms. Land has been plowed for years not 

 over four or five inches deep, when it ought to be 

 plowed not less than eignt inches deep. 



Tillage Operations Affecting Erosion. The sim- 

 ple precaution of running the rows of crops across 

 the slope, not up and down it, so that the culti- 

 vation furrows may not be in a line with gravity, 

 will do much to prevent erosion. The furrows be- 

 come watercourses during very heavy rain. The 

 loss in this way is especially serious if the furrows are 

 left running up and down slopes during the winter. 

 Every upland farmer is familiar with the triangular 

 patches of fine soil at the lower ends of these fur- 

 rows in the spring. The aggregate loss in this way 

 may be very great. The rows of crops should be 

 kept as nearly on a level as possible, even though 

 this necessitates many windings. We are often 

 told that straight rows look business-like, and 

 crooked rows slovenly. That is trye for the 

 prairie farmer but not for the upland farmer. 



Broad-tooth cultivators leave the soil in deep 

 furrows and high ridges, and so assist erosion. 

 The broad "sweep" and plow-like cultivators so 

 commonly used for "laying by" cotton and corn 

 are the worst offenders. Sweeps do excellent 

 service in cutting off weeds, but they leave the soil 

 much ridged and furrowed, the beginnings of 



