96 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
(Original papers from QTontrilmtors. 
HILL-SIDE DITCHES. 
_ Messrs. Editors —I see in the April No. of the Cul¬ 
tivator, an article from Mr. Easley, recommending the 
ditching of hill-sides. This is a subject which I con¬ 
ceive to be of great importance to those farmers (and 
they are many,) who cultivate broken farms. It is a 
matter of some surprise that the agricultural journals of 
the country should have so long preserved silence upon 
it, when it is remembered that few farms are so level as 
not to be seriously injured by every heavy fall of rain. 
It is high time that we, of the South especially, were 
casting about us for some effectual plan to remedy this 
evil. From my own reflections and knowledge of the 
course or system of farming, pursued by our cotton-ma¬ 
king, pork-buying people, I must say that I know of no 
plan so well adapted to that system, as the one advised 
by Mr. Easley. Though some eminent agriculturists 
have objected to the practice on account of the waste of 
land which it causes and the ugly appearance which it 
presents to the eye, yet as I find that it has been recom¬ 
mended on one occasion, by the late Judge Buel, whose 
authority with me, ranks high, I shall not be deterred 
from practicing it yet a while longer; preferring rather 
to lose a small portion of land, than to have my eyes 
pained at the sight of gullies and soilless hill-sides—a 
sight by no means calculated to please the fancy, or to 
make home “ more enticing.” I do not commend the 
taste of those who object to it, as being in bad taste. Let 
the work be well done—neatly, if you please—and they 
will have little reason to complain of its unseemly ap¬ 
pearance. That which is useful, can never be objec¬ 
tionable to men of sense, where a proper regard has been 
had to style in its construction or execution. 
But to my purpose when I first set out. The grade or 
fall in the ditch, advised by your correspondent, will not 
answer. A fall of a half inch to ten feet is not sufficient. 
It is objectionable on account of the difficulty most farm¬ 
ers would experience in making an instrument sufficiently 
accurate to indicate that fall; on account of the slow and 
sluggish motion of the water in passing off when collect¬ 
ed, thereby causing the ditches to fill up every heavy 
rain; on account of the unevenness of our lands gene¬ 
rally, as it would require a surface as smooth as a planed 
plank to operate upon, and lastly, would require too ma¬ 
ny ditches to pass off the water which is not absorbed by 
the land. But let ditches of 2f or 3 inches fall to 10 feet, 
be judiciously located and properly excavated, and they 
will preserve land, will not wash into gullies on clay soils, 
and require but little time or labor to keep them in order. 
Less grade will do on land, the sub-soil of which is sandy. 
I prefer to have my ditches wide but not deep—sloping on 
each side and the bottom concave—of size sufficient to 
hold all the water, which the heaviest rains would throw 
into them under any circumstances, for it must be remem¬ 
bered that some lands absorb more freely than others, 
and that the same land is more or less absorbent accord¬ 
ing to its condition or the manner and depth of the plow¬ 
ing. If there is science in any one thing in farming, 
(and that there is I have no doubt,) it is in ditching. 
That it has many advocates, is a fact so well established, 
that none can deny it. That it is the best plan yet disco¬ 
vered, for preserving hill-sides, I do not assert, but until 
I receive “ more light” I shall continue to practice it, 
notwithstanding the objections urged against it. Those 
who know a better plan, would do the world a favor to 
publish it, and confer a favor for which unborn genera¬ 
tions would thank them. 
The most judicious plan of cultivating land, in connex¬ 
ion with the ditches, is to lay off the rows on a level, or 
as nearly as possible. In doing this, the drilling system 
must of course be pursued. It is done with the aid of 
the instrument used to lay out the ditches, with an addi¬ 
tional mark upon it, to point out the level at every stride. 
It is our practice to lay off with the instrument, any num¬ 
ber of what we call guide rows, on every hill-side, that 
the judg-ment may dictate, and then with the aid of a 
small measuring stick of the length that we wish to have 
the rows in width, proceed to fill up the intermediate 
spaces in such manner as to keep the rows as much on a 
level as the nature of things will allow. Some planters 
think it better to give each row an inclination to the 
ditch, so slight however, as to avoid the washing of the 
land, by the passage of the water in the rows. This may 
be the better plan, but I cannot think so. I cannot bring 
myself to believe it, for it is hardly probable that water 
can be made to go down hill without taking with it more 
or less soil, according to the rapidity with which it 
moves or the force which it acquires in its descent. I 
have now given you my opinions upon the subject of 
preserving hill-sides. I shall be delighted, should any 
more effectual and practical method of effecting their pre¬ 
servation, be communicated through the columns of the 
Cultivator. The South especially, is deeply interested in 
ascertaining the best mode of doing it, as from our course 
of cropping, such lands are in constant cultivation, and of 
consequence almost literally exhausted, before the tim¬ 
ber left upon them, decays. 
The people of the South are many years behind the 
people of the North, in the improvement of their farms, 
and lamentable to tell, are too much wedded to the old 
system to depart from it. But a new era has dawned 
upon us. Agricultural journals are eagerly sought and 
read, and agriculture is made the theme (as it should ev¬ 
er be,) of conversation among farmers. We have a 
<£ Planter’s Club” in our county, composed of many of 
She most enterprising farmers among us; fine stock of 
several kinds, particularly of swine, and if I am not much 
mistaken in the signs of the times, we shall have in a few 
years more, “ improved farms.” I find that the Cultiva¬ 
tor has done much good here, though it is objected to by 
some, on account of its emanation from a northern lati¬ 
tude, and supposed inadaptation to our climate. North¬ 
ern or Southern, its pages contain matter, in my estima¬ 
tion, ot the deepest interest to the farmer every where, 
and principles which are valuable, and which are as 
much principles in the South as in the North. I have 
but little doubt that the Cultivator would be more uni¬ 
versally esteemed here, if it had more southern contri¬ 
butors. I do not look upon it myself, as a local paper, 
and I am persuaded that none who read it regularly, can 
regard it in any other light than national, in its tone, ob¬ 
ject and intention. A Georgian. 
Hancock Co., Ga. April, 1842. 
A. Georgian” is “ acceptable,” and we shall ex¬ 
pect him to fulfil the promise given in his private note, 
on the part of himself and friends. 
WATER ELEVATOR—(Fig. 56.) 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —As a partial recom¬ 
pense to the Editors of the Cultivator, I cheerfully remit 
to you your annual compensation, and I feel also in duty 
bound to your numerous correspondents to repay, if pos¬ 
sible, in part for the instruction, profit and pleasure, they 
and you have furnished me through the columns of the 
paper that monthly cheers the fireside, informs the minds, 
and lightens the toil of some 20,000 of our American yeo¬ 
manry. I therefore send you a plan of the manner in 
which I obtain the “ ale” which I use. Many like me, 
I presume, have with great expenditure of breath, flesh, 
and patience, tugged for years to their kitchen and table, 
a portion of the crystal spring that gurgled below them, 
and they probably would be thankful for a cheap, easy, 
and expeditious mode of raising it, otherwise than by 
the primitive slip-and-spill method of bringing it by 
hand. The annexed drawing of a wire railway for ele¬ 
vating water, or indeed any weight up an inclined plane, 
shows one I have had in operation more than two years, 
and is found to work most admirably. 
Let «, in the drawing represent a house at the summit 
of the hill— b, the spring— c, a post just below the spring, 
or two of them, with a roller between, by which the 
wire can be easily tightened or loosened— d, a common 
good sized wire—e, a platform with a post to fasten the 
wire and windlass, and to raise the wire clear of the ine¬ 
qualities of the surface— -f, a cord fastened to the pail g, 
which, when water is drawn, is suspended on two hooks 
attached to a pulley, slide, or even the half of a common 
cast door hinge through the junction holes of which the 
railway wire passes. This, when the pail is hung upon 
it, will quickly slide to the spring, where it will imme¬ 
diately fill from the spout, to the end of which a cross 
spout is fitted which turns the stream at right angles, thus 
permitting the pail to slide directly to th% proper place 
without touching the spout at all. It is then drawn ra¬ 
pidly up by the crank and cylinder at the top of the hill. 
My wire is 160 feet, or nearly 10 rods, in length, and I 
can draw a pail of water with less labor, and in less time 
than is usually taken to draw a bucket from a well 25 feet 
deep. The expense for cord and wire was less than two 
dollars; the {c fixens” cost me two or three days’ work. 
It has been in operation two years without repairing, and 
is better to me than a first rate well of moderate depth. 
'When large quantities of water are to be raised, two 
wires may be drawn, so that one bucket shall ascend 
while the other is descending. Wells are more expen¬ 
sive, and less useful than this apparatus, to those who are 
situated like myself. Besides well water, to those ac¬ 
customed to pure spring water, smacks too much of anti¬ 
quity, while this corresponds with the railroad, steam¬ 
going improvements of modern times. This alone would 
recommend it to the favor of some, but perhaps to the 
prejudice and disfavor of more. Therefore test it by ex¬ 
periment, and judge of it by its merits. 
Willson Newman. 
Note by the Editors —Mr. Newman's farm is situa¬ 
ted on the rich diluvial deposit of South Onondaga, on 
the margin of a narrow valley or depression in this de¬ 
posit, through which flows the west branch of the Onon¬ 
daga creek. This deposit, made of limestone, gravel, 
sand, &c. forms one of the finest soils for cultivation, and 
varies in thickness from 40 feet to more than 100. Gene¬ 
rally it is very difficult to obtain water in this deposit, by 
digging wells, as its porous nature allows water to flow 
off very readily. Where, however, the streams have cut 
down to the clay which underlies the deposit, copious 
springs of fine wafer appear, as is the case on the farm 
of Mr. Newman. To elevate this water to the level of 
the buildings and the plain, the water elevator of Mr. 
Newman appears to be well adapted, as in digging, no 
water could be reached, until the retentive strata was 
struck, some 55 feet in depth. 
But we would take the liberty of suggesting - to our 
friend Mr. N. whether an apparatus similar to those 
figured and described at pages 47 and 174 of the 7th vol. 
of the Cultivator, in which, by means of a wheel and 
forcing pumps, a constant supply of water is raised to a 
greater height than Mr. Newman's buildings above his 
spring, would not be preferable to his. If, as he informs 
us, his stock rely on the water of this spring for their 
drink, we think they would thank him to adopt a plan 
which should save them as well as himself the trouble of 
descending and climbing such a hill. The only difficulty 
would be in the water required to work the wheel; if 
the spring is sufficient for this, he can water his yard as 
well as his house easily. 
It appears to us that this simple machine of Mr. New¬ 
man’s might be made useful for other purposes than 
drawing water. For instance, why might it not super¬ 
sede the long and expensive inclined planes sometimes 
used by builders? AVhy might it not supersede the labor 
of the mortar and brick carriers? A wire railway of 
this kind might pass over streets without danger, and by 
increasing the length, any requisite elevation be gained. 
MR. HALL’S PIGGERY. 
Editors of the Cultivator —Acting on the prin¬ 
ciple that every farmer may impart some information, 
whereby his brother farmers may be benefited, and ob¬ 
serving the readiness with which you give place to nearly 
every communication on the subject of agriculture which 
you receive, I have taken the liberty to forward you a 
drawing and plan of my hog sty, or in more modern 
phrase, my piggery, which I erected on a plan partly 
original, and partly gathered from the pages of the Cul¬ 
tivator. From observations I have made on the course 
pursued by. some other farmers, I have formed the opin¬ 
ion that a course of mixed husbandry, on farms adapted 
to it, is the most advantageous, not only to the farmer, 
but also to the farm. I have been gradually striving for 
the last two years to pursue such a course, and as the 
erection of a piggery was essential to the business of ma¬ 
king pork, which is now an established business on the 
farm, I determined to erect one; from which I have 
slaughtered the last fall and winter, 30 hogs, weighing 
7,200 lbs., worth at prices for which I have been able to 
sell, $360, which forms no inconsiderable item in a farm¬ 
er’s productions. Still further to enhance those produc¬ 
tions, I have taken from the yards appertaining to the 
building, (what every good farmer knows how to prize,) 
about seventy heavy loads of manure. 
f|L aigsaajig ^ 
M 
1 
M 
i m f I 
Bnl 
- in'll 
I ® 
[Front and End View — Fig. 57 .] 
6x8 
H 
A 
6x8 
8*10 
H 
10*12 
H 
12 x 32 
A 
H 
12*12 
H 
c 
C T* 
ii * 
b hhht 
D 1 D « 
«- 
. 
[Ground Plan — Fig. 58.] 
The enclosed drawing, (fig. 57,) gives you a view of 
the front and west end of the building, which is 56 feet 
long and 20 feet wide, divided into six apartments for 
the hogs, as you will observe in the ground plan, (fig. 58,) 
each of which communicates with a yard in the rear of 
the piggery, and are designated by the letters A. A; each 
apartment communicates with the others by doors sliding 
up and down in a groove. The feeding troughs H, H, 
extend the whole length of the building adjoining the 
alley, and are covered by doors hung to a girth above 
them. The doors are fastened, when open and when 
shut, by a wooden bar sliding in, and entering staples of 
iron. They can be opened for the purpose of feeding, 
and shut again in an instant. The apparatus for cooking, 
and conveying food to each apartment, consists of a 
steamer, B, constructed of planks, with the exception of 
the bottom, which is heavy sheet iron, placed upon a 
brick arch, the sides of the steamer extending so far over 
the walls of the arch as to prevent burning. It will con¬ 
tain 15 bushels of roots, and will cook them in one hour. 
When sufficiently cooked, they are immediately trans¬ 
ferred to a car placed upon a railway, C, C, which runs 
the entire length of the building in the alley, which is 
eight feet wide, and as close to the troughs as is conve¬ 
nient, and also close to the steamer, which is placed on 
the opposite side of the railway. D, D, are bins for 
roots, in each of which a window opens for the purpose 
of shoveling them in, represented at E, E. At F, is 
placed a suction pump which brings water from a spring 
outside the building—G, bin for ground feed—I, I, doors. 
I shall make the process of cooking food, feeding, pro¬ 
fits, &c., the subject of another communication. 
Very respectfully yours, B. A. Hall. 
New Lebanon, March 25, 1842. 
