THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



175 



account of the general unevenness of the sur- 

 face. 



When this is done, have a furrow run with 

 a plough six or eight inches from the stakes on 

 either side. The furrow is run a little distance 

 from the stakes, so as to prevent the horse 

 from stepping on them. Another furrow is 

 then run upon the other side of them — making 

 the space between about fifteen inches at the 

 upper end, about three feet at the lower end, 

 (the ditch three hundred yards long.) Now 

 plough out the middle and have the dirt pulled 

 out with hoes on the lower side, until the ditch 

 is six or eight inches deep. It will be neces- 

 sary to plough it out two or three times, first 

 with a scooter and then with a shovel, so as to 

 make it concave when finished, or you can use 

 any kind of ploughs you wish. After this is 

 done, by stooping down low in the ditch you 

 can see the rough points or lumps that will 

 need trimming. I think ditches should be as 

 shallow as possible to answer the purpose for 

 which they are designed, so that horses and 

 mules will step across them more readily and 

 the dirt will not be so apt to fall in from the 

 edges. The ditch should be wide, for the rea- 

 son, the water being spread over a greater sur- 

 face is less liable to wash it into a gully than 

 if confined in a narrow space. Even when a 

 ditch is well laid off, if it is made too narrow 

 it may fail altogether. If at any time you 

 discover that a ditch is too narrow, alter im- 

 mediately — if too wide, (though this is rarely 

 the case,) let the grass grow into it on the up- 

 per side, and in one year it will get narrow 

 enough. 



At all gullies and washes across which you 

 wish to carry your ditch, put a log upon the 

 upper side as well as the lower side of the 

 ditch, as long as the wash is wide, the size of 

 the log to be in proportion to the depth of the 

 gully. The ends of the log on the upper side 

 must be placed in the earth even with the sur- 

 face. If logs are placed carefully in this man- 

 ner in several places between the ditches, the 

 gully will soon fill up. Pine brush, if conve- 

 nient, may also be used to advantage for this 

 purpose. 



Stubble land is much the easiest ditched, 

 because the surface of the earth is more 

 smooth, and if done in summer immediately 

 after the grain is cut. so that the grass will 

 grow on the embankment, it is not so liable to 

 wash. 



The largest gullies may be stopped in this 

 manner : First, run off your ditch without any 

 regard to the gully, and at the place where it 

 crosses, dig out two places on each side of the 

 bank of the gully, opposite each other, above 



and below where the ditch is to cross, and as 

 deep as the gully. Cut logs long enough to 

 reach across the gully, and fit them in the 

 places dug out in the sides ; then put them in 

 at each place, one upon the top of the other, 

 until they are as high as the bank of the ditch 

 should be to prevent its running into the gul- 

 ly — then fill up the space between as high as 

 the bottom of the ditch, with dirt, carefully 

 stopping the cracks between the logs with straw. 

 Put in a single set of logs every twenty or 

 thirty feet across the gully between ditches, in 

 the same manner, then fill up with logs, brush, 

 or anything that is convenient, and the work is 

 done. 



I have filled up and am now cultivating 

 across gullies in this manner — one in particu- 

 lar that was from five to seven feet wide, and 

 equally deep, about one hundred yards long. 



Lay off the rows for cultivatian on a level. 

 Plant corn, as well as cotton, in drills. Lay 

 off guide rows about thirty to fifty feet apart 

 on ordinary hill-sides ; but as they will not run 

 parallel upon a level, some places will be much 

 wider than others. In the middle of these 

 wide places run another row upon a level, then 

 commence laying off your rows for planting 

 parallel with the first rows, above and below 

 alternately, until they meet in the narrow 

 places — then run upon each side of the guide 

 row in the middle until you have finished. The 

 very short rows (they will sometimes occur) may 

 be laid off by guess. 



To preserve these guide rows when grain is 

 sown, I make the best hand that laid off, go 

 ahead and run them over. This he can do, 

 very nearly, by counting the rows at the nar- 

 row and wide points. Then take a turning 

 plough and run a furrow upon each side of it, 

 making a ridge. This will enable you to iden- 

 tify it the next year. 



Every time in ploughing over a field, I make 

 some of the plough hands clean the loose dirt 

 out of the ditches, at "twelve o'clock," while 

 the horses are eating. I know there is a great 

 diversity of opinion as to how land should be 

 cultivated after it is ditched. Many reasons 

 are given for plans differing from that here laid 

 down. 



Some contend that the rows should be laid 

 off so that each one will carry off its own sur- 

 plus water. Now, if each row is to carry off 

 its own surplus water, why have ditches at all ? 

 My argument for having the rows upon a level 

 is, when there is too great an accumulation of 

 water to be retained in the middle of the rows, 

 let it come over all the way in one smooth 

 sheet, and before it collects in a body sufficient 

 to wash, run into a ditch. 



