Grading and Leveling. 65 
cultivator. Once in a while one will come upon a stone wall 
inclosing an orchard in this State, as trim and true a wall as the 
most thrilty New England farmer can boast, but walls are not 
common. Our valley orchard lands are, as a rule, naturally as 
free from stone as they are from underbrush, but on the hills it 
is different. Probably the best way to dispose of much of the 
stone is to dig trenches in the natural water runs, put in stone, 
cover with small brush, and then with soil deep enough so the 
plow will not reach the brush. This disposes of the stone for 
all time, and at the same time helps to drain the soil. Concern- 
ing other treatment of the land after the rubbish is removed, 
F. W. Butler writes as follows:— 
When water runs are wide, lateral ditches should be cut extending en- 
tirely through the moist areas. If during the rainy season a run is likely to 
have more water than can be conveyed properly through a covered trench, 
it should be left open and graded so that a team can cross it, and for fifteen 
feet on each side sow to red-top. In this way the land can be utilized that 
would be worthless for trees, and the red-top, that can be grown at a profit, 
w iltake the place of unsightly weeds, that would otherwise grow at the 
point that can not be cultivated. 
To distribute work more evenly through the first year buildings can be 
erected, a well dug, and the trenching done in the dry season, while all the 
grubbing, leveling, plowing and planting must be done the following sea- 
son, as soon as the ground is sufficiently moistened. All depressions 
where water would stand should be filled, and all flat places should be 
graded until water will readily flow off, and not be retained so near the 
surface of the ground as to cause it to become soured. This leveling can 
be best done by one man and a pair of horses. Plow the adjacent elevated 
land and scrape into the places to be filled. The land is now ready for 
plowing and should be done thoroughly, subsoiling to as great a depth as 
the removal of the stumps will allow. It is now well to go over the 
ground again with the scraper and level all the most elevated points so 
they can be readily reached by water in irrigating. Then cross-plow as 
deeply as possible without again subsoiling, harrow and drag, and the 
ground will be ready to plant. 
Mr. Butler writes with reference to the foot-hills of the 
Sierra Nevada, where irrigation must be practised. Where irri- 
gation is not used, leveling, or rather grading, is unnecessary, 
but it is often quite as necessary to arrange for drainage so that 
there may be no depressions which do not have an outlet for the 
surplus water. The life of the trees and the convenience of the 
planter demand this. 
