The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-05-18
TIE FARM AND HOME.
"a METHOD OF PREVENTIVE
LAND WASHING.
3Clayey Soil Suffers IIeavily-To Increase
Hields-A Cure for Heaves-NIOre n
Sheep ~ Farm Notes
and Home Hints.

Twas glad to notice in late mum
Der OF Coleman's, Rural World, that
somebody besides myself is concerned
about the washing of land / have
felt concerned about that matter ever
since 1: l first came to the clayey West
ern region, writes c.. A. Osgood
More than thirty years ago wrote in
the n. Y. Tribune that it seemed
as it nature had taken the contract
OF filing up the Gulf of Mexico, and
had impressed the farmers of this
region, into her service ON the Job
and that they seemed to be good and
willing helpers, as none of them that
y know seemed to care for the wash
ing OF their lands if so be the num Der
Iof acres were left and the. ink not
| washed out of their title dee.ajs
When their fields became. we'll
scored over with gullies, they would
put some straw in the deeper ones
and pillow all full of top soil and con-.
slider the harm all remedied, never
lseeming to realize that every opera
Il ton of that kind lessened the. aver
Nage depth Of fertile soil an inch or
more, which in time would bring
| the pillow down to sterile clay and
thard-pan. Sandy Or gravelly land,
|even Of pretty steep slope, will abb
sorb water as fast as it usually falls
in rain.
| But it is quite different with
4 clayey soil, SO that it suffers not only
4 .rom the effects of the washing, but
in case of short, rapid showers in
i times of drouth. Once on bright,
hot day in time of general drouth.
j I came to creek, wallowing bank
4 full of thick. muddy water; there had
been heavy shower higher up, but
none where was.
4 We are depicting the fertility of
this Western region pretty rapidly
by the expectation of so much of the
j products of the soil. For this we
l get some return in cash and goods.
But have no doubt the Missis-
| sippi river drains the country of more
of the valuable elements of crops,
Soluble and insoluble) than all our
exports together; and for this we get
no return whatever. l have long re-
| garded this waterway waste as cry
ing evil and serious loss to mankind,
that ought in some way to be OBJ
waited. Besides the securing of the
soil, there is all immense waste from
nearly all farms that carry much live
stock caused by the teaching and
washing away of manures.
And then, think of it! the elements
of nine -tenths or more of all the food
consumed in cities and towns are
ruthlessly washed or dumped into the
I rivers and ocean, and thus mostly
! lost to the 'shabiters of earth" for a
i geologic period, more or less. These
things must stop some time. There
is a simple and feasible way to most
~ prevent land from washing.
I, years ago, SAW directions for it
in paper, and practiced it to small
extent with perfect success. The
directions were to take asstraight
edged board one rod long and nail a
leg to each end, one leg one and one,
half inch longer than the other At
:; tach a spirit level to the board Cor a
plumb line would do). With this
lay out the waterways in such direc
, ton that tb3 straight edge of the
board will be level with the longer
, leg down hill. Stick marking pins
where each leg stood. Go on for an
other length setting the shorter leg
where the longer 1irst stood, and sc
: on, leaving a marking pin at each
station; then follow the course
marked out with pillow two to foul
burrows, and finish with hoe
or .scraper. In many places {
= single furrow would do at leas
for experiment. / later adopted ;
more expeditions mode of laying GU
, the bitches which answers very vel
wherever the slope is pretty even :
made simple stand of convenien
, heighth to hold the level, thel
> marked on staff the same height O
the top of the level, with inch mark
above, then beginning at upper emf
- of course sent my helper with tn
> staff in the direction we were to run
directing him to pace off a given mum
Der of rods (more or less, according
to the character of the surface), the
to face me with his hand on the. stat
one ami one-half inches above tn
level mark for each rod he, had gon
out. | would then sight over th
q. level and motion him up or down.hil
T until he found the place where tn
q level would strike his hand (top @
o, bottom as agreed Bottoms prefers
bly,. We marked the stations as i
I the other way. ...z...~...e: .--
I was so situated that I newer di
more of it in either way than to fairl
IT experiment, but I was so well sati:
Is fed with the feasibility and benef
-" OF the process, that [ intended
obliged to retain possession Of IA
+ farm much Longer, to<have bought
IS | road machine for the purpose, of naal
5. ing those waterways all over tn
le place, together with some. roads an
ir | perhaps rent the machine TO the roa
j. district And that is just the ws
to do it. A road machine once IN