348 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
when it has overflown the slopefe of the ridges. In our 
o^n districts it has long been the practice to water our 
land in a manner cpiite as efflcacious as that to which we 
have alluded, but at an outlay of a little more than one- 
tenth of that of our neighbors. This we have done by 
means of our catch-nieadows, which have commonly been 
laid out at an expense not exceeding four or five pounds 
per acre,’’ 
The system of irrigation practiced by the members of 
this enterprising Society, and fostered by its premium-s, ap- 
pears to us entirely practfcable in the Southern, as well as 
in the Northern States. The principle adopted in making 
catch-meadows is applicable to the improvement of land 
for ail tilled crops,*and it is, therefore, worthy of our best 
consideration. Rain, as it drops froi^t the clouds, is a 
well known fertilizer; and after water has passed some 
distance over the surface of the earth, or through its outer 
strata, it liolds in solution both the mineral and organic 
elements of all cultivated plants. Educated farmers, 
knowing this fact, lead it along the natural inclination of 
the ground in ditches, in such a manner a^s to kepp^it at 
the highest passible elevation along the field which is to 
be watered; and cutting gutters one below another fo 
catch the water as it flows down over the land, and dis- 
tribute it regularly over each successive portion. In some 
cases, the {process is to cut a number of side branches to 
take water from the leading ditches in various directions, 
<nnd t® direct streams into these laterafcuts by means of 
“stops,” according to the part of the field which it is- 
ieai-red fo irrigate. If the supply of water is insufficient to» 
cover Uie whole surface of the la.nd, oheportioh is watered 
at a time, wliich is m«re expensi,ve than watering the 
whole by a single ope«atio«. Experience has proved that 
^the heavy rains in autumn fuimish the most fertilizing 
watei’, owing, probably, to the greater disintegration of 
decaying plante,- animals, mould and minerals, in summer 
mnd autifmn, than in winter and spring. 
Aftor the wator fs brought to the field for distribution, a 
carriage'-guitter 1 foot wide and 6 inches deep, having a 
descent ®f 1 foot in 39G along the highest attainable ground, 
is to be filled with water. As it approaches its termina- 
tion, the-gutter is made narrower than a foot, so as not to 
convey more water to the most distant part of the field 
than is distributed t© t-hat part where the water first en- 
ters. The vokme, or dimensions df this Reading gutter, 
are iaimh smaller than these formerly used. The sides 
an'd bottoms of larger gutters absorb too much, so that a 
small stream cannot be broadly diffused over the surface. 
' Parallel v/ith the main gutter, and on either side of it, 
v^here the land descends on both sides of it, smaller gut- 
-lers .are cut, 'perfectly level from end lo end, to catch the 
watena's it .trickles over the ground from the central one> 
and source of supply. All the side gutters being on a 
water level, they will all ©verflow at once, when filled, 
and thus distribute the fertilizing water very equally over 
the whole field. Long experience and study have lessen- 
ed the cost and labor of cutting these gutters, which is 
done by horse-power, and with implements, which we 
will briefly describe. The sides of all gutters are cut by 
two knives that stand like coulters in plow beams, and 
are adjusted to cut six inches (more or les.s) in depth, and 
one foot or less in width. 
A plow made to fit the desired width of the gutter cuts 
the sod, or earth at the bottom, and lifts the mass that 
leaves a space for the gutter when removed. The sod. .:'r 
loos« earth removed, should not form a bank by the side 
of the channel in which the water is to be caught, and t-o 
flow, but be equally spread over the ground, or hauled off. 
Gutter-plows are easily constructed, to cut the sides of the 
small ditch and throw out the earth as the implement ad- 
vances. In laying out the work, a spirit level is not 
used, but a simple wooden compass standing five feet 
high, with the limbs four feet apart on the ground, hav- 
ing a cross-bar. and a plumb line suspended from the top. 
The cross-piece has a notch in the centre, and the gutterer 
has only to put one foot of the compass on the earth and 
turn ilie other round and note the place of the line on the 
cross-bar to find the Vi^ater level, or the nearest approxi- 
mation to it. The instrument so elaborately described by 
Rev. Mr. Johnson, in our last, appears worthy of trial. 
To mark out water-courses and excavate them with a plow, 
at proper distances from each other, is an operaiion with- 
in the skill of every farmer. Experience from year to 
year demonstrates the great profit of u.sing running water 
as a vehicle for conveying fertility to soils that lack the 
same. Springs and mountain streams are rich in all the 
^l§i'«f nts of crops, which should not be permitted to run 
to waste, but conducted into fields for the production of 
agricullui’al staples. At present, running water is im- 
poverishing millions of acres by washing the surface 
soil into branches, creeks, rivers and the ocean, aided 
by shallow tillage, often up and down steep side 
hills. Instead of removing the cream of arated land 
off ©lie’s plantation, water should be made to add 
largely to the natural resources of the farm. Its evapor- 
ation ’on the-surfac^, after it has risen either by capil- 
lary attracticfii, or in springs from a considerable depth 
irr the earth, rarelyffails to enrich the soils by the salts, 
and humic substances left as a residuum. In a district 
where na lime i©ck lies within 500 feet of the surface, we 
have seen so much of this mineral brought up dissolved 
in water, as to form large beds ot tvffa by the escape of 
free carbonic acid. This acid holds common carbonate of 
lime in solution in water. 'L. 
■ BaititEltiiiDl Stpiimtnt. 
WORK FOR THE MONTH— (HOVEMEER.) 
[November is so named from the Latin novcm, mne ; it 
being the ninth month of the Roman Calendar. It cor- 
res^ionds to the Jewish Chirleu, (Neh. i. L) which signi- 
fies c/iiZZe<Z; the Z/ar^Z month of their tZL'/Z, and ninth of 
their sacred, year. The Saxons called it Wint-monath, or 
Wind-month, and also Blot-monath, Blood or Sacrifice- 
month, as they then offered sacrifices of animals.] 
THE PLANTATION. 
Cotton Picking sheuld be entirely finished by the mid- 
dle or latter part of this month, in order that the planter 
and kis force may have a little “breathing space” before 
the beginning of the next year’s labors. It may also be 
advisable to heed well the suggestions in our last number, 
respecting the ginning, packing and general preparation 
of the crop for market; for the price it brings will be found 
to depend as much upon this as upon the length or fine- 
ness of staple. 
Sweet Potatoes should be dug and carefully banked or 
