38 BULLETIN 512, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
between the terraces. Where large machinery is used, and it is difli- 
cult to follow the terrace line, the rows may be run at an angle 
across the terraces, where 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 between two adjacent terraces are to be laid out 
parallel with the terraces, the same number of rows 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 work of cultivation. 
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 Pl. 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 was 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 unsuitable design, faulty construction, 
or lack of proper maintenance. 
