38 BULLETIN 512, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



between the terraces. Where hirge machinery is used, and it is diffi- 

 cult to follow the terrace line, the rows may be run at an angle 

 across the terraces, w^here the land is not very steep, as in figure 2-F. 

 To do this the terraces must be broad and must be thrown up at least 

 once a year to maintain their height. 



Where the rows betw^een two adjacent terraces are to be laid out 

 parallel with the terraces, the same number of roAvs should be run 

 parallel with each terrace as indicated by the rows marked " L " in 

 figure 18. Owing to the variation in distance between terraces it 

 then will be necessary to fill in with short rows, generally known as 

 "point rows." These rows, marked /'S" in figure 18, are run in 

 pairs so as to facilitate the w^ork of cultiA^ation. 



RECLAMATION OF GULLIED LANDS. 



The best results accomplished in the reclamation of badly gullied 

 and eroded lands were found on the State agricultural experiment 

 farm near Holly Springs, Miss. Plate IX, fig. 1, shows an extreme 

 type of land that was completely reclaimed and made to produce 

 crops. The gullies were partially filled by plowing the soil into 

 them from along the edges, and further filled and levelled off by 

 means of teams and scrapers. As soon as possible a sod of lespedeza 

 or Bermuda grass was started over the levelled-off eroded areas. 

 Most of the land was terraced with broad-base graded-ridge terraces, 

 and terraces, or dams, were constructed across gullies that were too 

 large and deep to be economically reclaimed by filling in. Ponds 

 formed above these dams (see PI. IX, fig. 2) which served to catch 

 all soil carried into them from above. 



Gullying can be effectively checked also by planting trees in the de- 

 pressions. The native pine and black locust are recommended. Fill- 

 ing in gullies with straw and brush also checks erosion. In one in- 

 stance a gully w^as practically reclaimed by dynamiting the bottom to 

 loosen the soil and then stretching wire netting across the gulley 

 below to catch soil particles and vegetation. The use of large pipe 

 through a dam, with a drop drain above, is also a method which can 

 be used effectively. 



SUMMARY. 



To soil erosion may be attributed the existence of much of the 

 " worn-out " hill lands of the United States. Erosion can be con- 

 trolled most effectively by the use of terraces. Although terracing is 

 now quite widely practiced in the Piedmont region of the South, in 

 only a few sections are efficient results being obtained. Since the 

 comparatively few well-designed and constructed terrace systems are 

 uniformly successful in preventing soil wash, it follows that the many 

 failures must be ascribed to imsuitable design, faulty construction, 

 or lack of proper maintenance. 



