PREVENTION OF EROSION BY TERRACING. oi. 
keeps the point pressing slightly against the edge of the furrow and 
prevents a tendency of the drag to jump out. 
Graded terraces commonly are built with a plow and drag scraper. 
A strip is plowed, as heretofore described, and the loose earth on 
the upper half of the strip is scraped up and deposited on the lower 
half. By this method a channel is constructed for the flow of the 
water, and the earth used to build up the embankment. (See PI. 
WAL es 2,) 
MAINTENANCE AND CULTIVATION OF TERRACES. 
A newly built terrace is susceptible to failure until it becomes 
thoroughly settled. For this reason it is not advisable to cultivate 
the terrace the first year. It should be sown to some sort of cover 
crop. Breaks in terraces in the first year tend to discourage a 
novice in the use of terraces, but unless the embankment is built to 
an abnormally large size breaks occur often in newly made terraces. 
Yi ‘ 
\\ Ky Ri 
LOO Cw v 
4% s 
ow Saige a As 
SS e777 
po ee ee 
Ce ee <S 
Fig. 18.—Method of laying out rows where distance between terraces varies (L, long 
rows; S, short rows). 
After the terrace has been established permanently, the soil should 
be thrown toward the center at each plowing of the field, at least 
once a year. This will increase the breadth and maintain the height 
of the terrace and the field eventually will assume an appearance of 
a succession of prominent waves, all of which may be cultivated 
easily. (See fig. 2-D, E, and F.) : 
In cultivating a terrace as much of the soil as possible should be 
thrown toward its center. The best results are obtained where the 
rows are run parallel with the terraces. At first, usually one row is 
planted on the top (Pl. VITI, fig. 1), but as the terrace grows broader. 
_ several rows are planted as shown in Plate VIII, figure 2. These 
rows invariably produce a greater yield than do those on the land 
