Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-09-23
THE SCIENCE OF FARMING
By W. A. Doughery, u. IS. D.

1.-THE plow BY tapping on the unbroken
ground and throwing burrows toward
the center until the desired width is
obtained. The width will be governed
BY the ideas of the maker. A bank
wide enough for three rows is prefer
red. Such bank allows center row
on top Of the embankment with an
other row on each side. After this
bed has been thrown up once, go to
the center, and then BY. tapping as be-
fore, continue in the same manner un--
til the proper height is reached. If
disc pIow is used. the embankment
may be completed, at the first opera
ton, as it will turn loose dirt When
ordinary turning plows are used it may
happen that one must wait until the
land is settled by rain in order to com
plete the job. DISTINCTIONS will, OF
course, have to be removed, depres-
sions or gullies filled, and the bank at
these points built up and strengthened
to correspond to other parts of the ter
race. The height, as we'll as the width,
to which this embankment should be
made, depends on the depth Of rain
fall it must withstand. The one i'm
portant feature is to make it strong,
enough to stand against any possible
emergency. When the embankments
have been completed, run the rows
parallel with them. Beginning with the
first row on top of each dixie, run off
in pairs from each side, letting the
short rows come in the middle 1t has
been found best. to work in two short
rows occasionally before finishing,
which would cause too great an ac-
cumulation of water at one point. The
intervening short rows should always
come in pairs, as this will allow teams
to make round without dragging the,
cultivator or pillow out to the opposite
end, as would necessarily be the case
if there were only one row. The ends
of all short rows should point slightly
up grade. Opinion differs as to short
others prefer having them all come on
rows some prefer as above, while
one side or the other. The rows on
the terrace can be cultivated the same
as the others. provided the terrace is
made with the right grade and is
broad enough. This method of ter
racing leaves no room for a crop of
weeds, but utilizes all the land in the
field. AS each intervening row mas
some fall, the water will be carried out
/ by it, but SO SLOWLY that the greatest
amount possible will be taken up by
1.-THE land before It can run off. Should
water enough accumulate to run over
1.-THE ordinary rows, the terrace rows
will check and hold it until it can be
gradually taken up by the land or car
Tried, slowly to the outlet. A little
judgment in blowing will keep bikes
from getting too high. No trouble is
experienced in running cultivators,
mowers, binders, or wagons on or
across the field in any direction. There
is no question that this method is bet
ter than any one yet used; and any
farmer, it matters not how small his
farm or limited his means. can prac-
tice it. Many of the best farmers in
the sand hill and light loan sections
of Mississippi. Louisiana, and Arkan-
sas are handling their lands by this
method. The writer of this bulletin
has had practical experience with all
the methods ordinarily used in the last