ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE. 
53 
LESSON XI. 
SITUATION OF THE SURFACE. 
76. Whether the surface of a farm lies well or lot, de« 
lends upon the nature of the soil. Thus, sandy land rarely 
suffers from being level, as it seldom retains too much 
moisture. Clayey lands, on the other hand, being natur¬ 
ally disposed to moisture, would evidently suffer from con¬ 
tinued rains, if so situated. The water not being able to 
penetrate through the earth, would remain upon the sur¬ 
face, and injure and sometimes kill the plants. 
77. Arable lands lie best when just sufficiently rolling 
to carry off the surplus water, with the assistance of the 
water-furrows that should always be made immediately 
after seeding. Water-furrows are of great importance, 
and farmers are frequently great losers by neglecting to 
make them; for wheat covered by water, in freezing 
weather, often suffers, and is frequently killed. 
78. In some cases, water-furrows do not remedy the 
evil of too much moisture. Recourse is then had to ditch¬ 
ing, or what is better, under-draining, which is done by 
digging narrow ditches, filling them half full with broken 
stone or brush, and then throwing the earth back into 
them. The water, when the operation is properly per 
formed, will flow freely among the stones or brush, at the 
bottom of the ditch. 
79. Some farmers have even changed the nature of the 
subsoil, by replacing it with stone and gravel; but this 
process is enormously expensive, and only applicable on a 
very small scale. 
80. Hilly lands possess some advantages over those that 
are level; among others, the better exposition of the plants 
to i*ight and air. 
81. But these advantages are werbalanced by serious 
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