### Clue: Ditches contract to gather French greens (8)
### Answer: CULVERTS 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Ditches
 "cull"(to gather;to collect from, as in "the information was culled from various articles") **minus its last letter**(contract …) + VERT(French for the colour green) + …S.
Defn: … crossing under a road, railway, embankment, etc.