The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1890-01-30

Clemson College when it gets under full
headway.
Practical Directions for Keeping Land
from Washing Away.
find that a great many of our farmers
mark of their terrace lines, throw up a
bank of some sort, then leave the work as
a finished job, calling it "terraced," when
in reality they have merely marked off a
piece of work that ordinarily will stand
ten or fifteen years before the land may
be called "terraced." There are but two
ways mainly Of terracing land. One is
artifcially, by ploughiug Sith hillside
plows or working the earth down to 8
level otherwise; and the other is to throw
up bank or other obstruction to catch
the earth as nature moves it down the hill
by heaving frosts, washing rains, etc. For
just as sure as rain falls upon shallow
ploughed land, where clean culture is
practiced, on ;.ioping ground, washing
will occur; and no one with big head
and small pocketbook need undertake
to plough these hard hill lands deep
enough to prevent washing at some time.
Therefore, the better plan in terracing,
as we'll as everything else, is to work with
nature; that is, let nature work while you
plan and Seep good obstruction below
to catch the earth asss.-e moves 1t down,
and thus appropriate her labor. And if
your obstruction should break, why, just
go and build itup again stronger than
ever, the same as you would your water
gaps in your fence, or the breaks in your
bitches that had blown down.
Many years before the war / heard q
very successful farmer say that the most
important and most difficult problems of
his life were to know how to make smart
men of his boys and to prevent his land
from washing away, and the way he hit
upon TO prevent his land from washing
away was very simple, viz: On all slop=
ing lands he would mark off section lines
upon level at intervals of about three
feet fall between, much on the same plan
as terracing nowadays; but instead of
cultivatiDg the whole field in the same
crop, he planted one land or section
between his marks in small grain, and
the other corn or cotton, alternating them
every year, which prevented washing in a
way satisfactory to him, for he had no dry
land bitches on his farm. An idea occurs
to me here, that if all our terraced lands
were planted in alternate sections of
small grain and hoed crops, the terraciog
plan would work more satisfactory to
many.
Large stoDes placed in line on top of
the ground make q first class terrace bank
Notwithstanding the opinion of some at
the Pendleton meeting 10 the contrary,)
for ne can show banks in this county 4
OF FIVE feet high in places, built with loose
stones taken of the land. But these
banks were not made in one year; they
we're raised higher as the earth filed in
above, or the water washed around the
ends, with stones that continue to appear
on the aurface a fter each seasons plough
ing.
About twenty years ago I saw terrace
bank about Ghree feet high, on the lower
side of garden that belonged to Judge
Norton's mother, that was built up by
sowing row of what she called "border
grass" which caught the earth as it
worked down by catching new roots and
climbing to the top Of the earth as fast as
it accumulated. At intervals since then
have made good terrace banks by SOW
ing rows of this border grass after the
fashion Of laying out terrace banks, which
found proved good banks, aad in addi-
tion gave fine crops of early grass, which
have been cut in the latter part of March,
where fertilized, for calves and colts.
This plan of terracing is the only system
that has no loss of land space, in trying
to prevent land from washing by either
ditching or throwing up banks of the
richest earth in fields growing noxious
weed seeds that will infest the crops.
The best system of ditching uplands
prevents small amount of land from
washing away at the expense of large
amount of waste space of land and a
yearly expenditure that is nearly equal
to that which is required to keep up ter.
race banks, and at the same time these
bitches do not entirely prevent the land
washing. To prove this assertion, look at
the accumulated sand in the streams,
highways, and at the outlets of these
bitches.
Until the land is washed down to q
level, washings may occur at times, but
when the land is terraced, brought up to
leyel-it will not wash, even when hall
ploughed,-FARMER's Son, in Southern
Cutlivator.
- Capt. R. w. Andrews, the ole
pedestrian who walked few years age
4 from this point 10 Boston, was in Sumter
ON Saturday last and paid US visit
He says he intends celebrating his one
hundredth birthday on Fourth Of July il
Sumter, and that on that day be want;
all of bis friends to assemble on cour
house square, where he will promise then
entertainment He expects to FIRE 1O(
rounds on that day, and shortly afterwart
he will undertake another long journey
he is very erect aud would be taken fol