Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-05-11
UNION AND AMERICAN.
FARM AND GARDEN.
STOP THE GULLIES.

HAtluOne VI uOudIS hOIlu VI sui - al
nuslly carried to the gulf from the Mis-
sissippi Valley for want of little atten-
ton from farmers Scarcely farm of
any size. can be found upon which there
are not great deep washes through which
the very life blood of the sell is trickling
away drop by drop. Such places
are not only leaks to the farmers capital,
but are eyesores that destroy the beauty
of the farm. They can be easily checked
by first making dam near the end of
them 50 that the silt may find a lodg-
ment. Upon this let herds grass be sown
and some plum bushes planted. Then
let second dam be built higher up and
the grass sown and bushes planted. Let
this be continued until the beginning Of
the gully is reached.
An ounce of preventive, however, is
better than pound of cure. If the land
is well and deeply plowed and pains taken
to check the first beginnings of washes
there win never be any necessity for con-
structing dams, or planting bushes. We
know fields that have been cultivated for
half q century, and although they are very
rolling, yet not q sign of wash is discov-
cradle in them. They have been subsoil-
ed from time to time, and plowed deeply
every year when in cultivation, SO that
the topsoil was not washed away with every
heavy rain. Occasionally one of these
deluging rain storms may do an immense
amount of damage by carrying
away the soil, but such storms
can no more be guarded against in taking
steps for the preservation of our lands
than the great hurricanes that sweep
away houses and cities, can be guarded
against in the construction of houses.
We were painfully impressed with the
necessity of checking little washes, in
walking, few days since, over field
that we knew twenty years ago. At that
time, there were few small gullies max
ing through it to large pond. They did
moi exceed two or three feet in depth.
The leading ones are now from ten to
fifteen feet deep, and frsm twenty to
twenty-five wide, and great numbers of
smaller ones make into these of a depth
SO great, that the work required to stop
them would be worth five or six times
the land. From twenty acres or more
the soil has been swept down these
washes into place that it can never be
of any benefit. And the amount of dam
age does not stop here. A large amount
of stock was running en- these twenty
acres, and their droppings are taken by
every rain to the pond to contaminate its
waters, and to lessen the products of
the farm. Now the owner of this
farm is a prosperous man. His crops
are large and income great and in
Justice to him, it must be said,
thai this neiu was past redemption when
he came into possession of the property.
But the thought suggested itself whether
it would not add greatly to the value of
the property to expend thousand dollars
or more in retaining a field as far gone
as even this one. The saving in manure
would more than pay the interest on the
expenditure, and the Improvement in the
appearance of his farm would be worth
the amount expended.
Our farmers do not pay attention
enough to the preservation of their real
estate. The low price of land in the
early settling OF the State induced the
pernicious habit of clearing aud
wearing out the lands, and the custom
has been transmitted from father to son.
The time is at hand when such system
must be abandoned, ifnot from principle,
at least from policy. Good lands and
timbered lands are becoming too scarce
for such system to be longer practised.
Take care of the land andfight the gullies.