202 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
June, 
er sectional carriers branch out as nearly at right 
angles with the principal carrier as the surface of 
the interval will admit, and with such frequency as 
to conduct the water on to every level of the land. 
Little gutters are made with a hoe, in the sides of 
these sectional carriers, through which the water 
flows in small streams, and then trickles over the 
entire surface of the ground. To determine the 
particular place for these ditches, so as to get the 
water properly over the land, is a work of skill, and 
requires a practiced eye, together with the aid of a 
spirit level, and the frequent sticking down of small 
stakes, for the guidance of the plowman in turning 
his furrow for the sectional ditches. It is not found 
advisable to give much descent to the water in the 
carriers, because it would have too much tendency 
to the lowest place, and would not flow over the 
land with sufficient equality. One or two inches 
fall in every ten feet of length, is enough. Flumes 
made of plank, with gates in them, are placed in 
the main carrier ditch, at suitable intervals, and al¬ 
so at the mouth of the side carriers, and by opening 
and shutting these gates, the water is taken off the 
land at one place, and let on at another, at plea¬ 
sure. 
When the water is first let into the ditches, if any 
slight inequalities in the sides or surface of their 
banks occur, by which the water escapes before they 
are filled, enough earth is taken from the bottom of 
them to make all level, so that the water may serve 
all parts of the land equally. Trench drains are 
made in the hollows, to conduct off all surplus wa¬ 
ter, and prevent water grasses from appearing in 
the sward. In cutting the trench drains, a careful 
examination with the aid of the level was made, in 
order, if possible, to give the drains such a direc¬ 
tion as should conduct the water to land on some 
lower level, where it could be again used for irriga¬ 
tion. Much advantage was in this way gained. 
In these various ways the waters of the Black- 
stone are conducted to, and spread over thirty acres 
of land. The ditches once made, nothing more has 
ever been necessary in order to thorough irrigation, 
save the making of slight repairs in the sides of the 
ditches, occasioned by meadow moles, and the feet 
of the cattle while feeding off the aftermath. 
As I walked over this irrigated ground, observing 
the rich sediment with which the never failing wa¬ 
ters of the river were charged, the thoroughness 
and convenience of the dam, gates and ditches, for 
controling the irrigation, and the evidences of the 
fertility which had been imparted to the meadow, I 
thought to myself, here is going on that “gallant 
operation ” so quaintly and yet so tersely described 
by old Walter Blith in his English Improver . He 
remarks—“ If either thy land be gravell, or of a 
sound warm sandie, or mixed nature, and any whit 
descending, then any running streame will have a 
gallant operation. The warmer, lighter, and sound¬ 
er is the land, the greater is the advantage. These 
particulars discovered, out of question thou hast a 
wonderful advantage before thee, especially if thou 
hast any great length and quantity of land along 
the River, or by a great roade way side, or else 
hast any good land floods from great townes or ci¬ 
ties, make as much of these advantages, and ap¬ 
prise them as thy lands, for though hereby thou canst 
make thy lands no more, yet thou mayst make them 
so much better, almost as thou canst desire. And 
so doe but a little consider of the way of both fit¬ 
ting thy land to thy water, and thy water to thy land, 
with the truest, naturalest, and properest seasons 
for bringing it on and taking it off, and thou shalt 
see an admired issue. For this seriously observe, 
that the water running trickling among the grasse 
and upon the earthe, leaving her thicknesse, soyle, 
or filth, which I call richnesse, among the grasse, 
and upon the earth, and itself runneth away into the 
drayning trench, and troubleth thee no more, and 
so the goodnesse of the water is as it were riddled, 
screened, and strained out into the lands, and the 
leanesse slideth away with it.” 
Col. Lincoln’s meadow is naturally of an exceed¬ 
ingly light sandy soil, with a loose open subsoil, so 
much so that at the commencement of the irrigation, 
it was difficult to cover parts of it with a grass 
sward at all. But by appropriating the “wonder¬ 
ful advantage” afforded by the river, by “fitting the 
land to the water, and the water to the land,” lie 
finds that “the” natural “leanness slideth away,” 
and a remarkable fertility takes its place. His in¬ 
terval now gives him an average yield of two tons 
of hay per acre, per annum. There has been no 
season, however moist, for the past twenty years, 
that he has not derived much benefit from the artifi¬ 
cial watering. 
The Colonel thinks there are no means so cheap 
or expeditious as those afforded by irrigation, for im¬ 
proving and rendering permanently productive, all 
dry, barren, sandy, or gravelly lands. Give him 
water, he says, and just so far as he can spread 
that, he has no occasion to draw and shovel manure, 
for the water will bring on, and diffuse, and estab¬ 
lish fertility. At the commencement of this enter¬ 
prise, he took down his old barn, and erected ano¬ 
ther in its place, of much larger capacity; and al¬ 
though the crops from the farm for the first few 
years did not quite half fill the new barn, yet there 
is now no spare room,—the increase being in the 
greatest degree owing to the irrigation. The arti¬ 
ficial watering is indirectly advantageous to the 
whole farm; for while the meadow yields vastly more 
hay than formerly, it yet requires no manure from 
the yards; the extra produce supports a much lar¬ 
ger stock of cattle, double the manure is in conse¬ 
quence made, all of which is spread upon the up¬ 
lands,—thus giving a progressive improvement to 
all the land. The hay from the irrigated land is 
found to be of a very milky quality, and the cows 
and other stock are very fond of it for its softness 
and succulency. Then, too, there is a full bite of 
aftermath on the meadow for the cattle in the fall, 
which comes at a time when the upland pastures are 
used up for the season. 
Now that the ditches are all completed, it takes 
but a half hour to an hour each day to manage the 
irrigation; but this daily attendance, however, must 
not be remitted; on the contrary, much depends up¬ 
on careful attention and the exercise of judgment, 
for if the water is not frequently changed from place 
to place, it will stagnate in the soil, wild grasses 
will spring up, and the quality of the hay will be 
injured. No part of the meadow, therefore, recei¬ 
ved the water more than two days in a week, 
and after the grass has got well started in the 
spring, the water is not usually continued more than 
one day in the week, in one place. In this way the 
water is used, from early spring to late autumn, sa¬ 
ving an interval commencing two to three weeks be¬ 
fore haying, and ending at the close of that busi¬ 
ness. The best success is found to follow, where 
the water can be made to flow gently over the sur¬ 
face,—a rapid current being apt to carry off fertili¬ 
zing matters, and a sluggish inactivity being apt to 
bring in wild grasses. Gentle, but constant activi¬ 
ty of the water, is therefore considered to be a lead¬ 
ing maxim in the irrigation. 
“It is observed,” says Prof. Johnston, “that 
