consfkx ati on of the
FERTILIZER IN THE LAND
?he erosion of the entire hillside. If
onlv a limited amount of time can
1.0 spent terracing, it will be much
better *? * build the g? toj> (rrrarM I
*ell than t?? half build four terrace?.
Terraces should not be spared too
far apart, and yet there is no rule
for the exact distance they should be.
Surest ions are pi veil in the "terrac
ing tables." If the terraces are too j
far apait there -a ill be washing be-,
tween llieni. and there will also be;
danger of them breaking from hav
inc too nun h watershed. If the ter
races are too close together it makes
the terracing more expensive per
acre than necessary. On a lai ge per
cent of the hilly lands needing ter
racing. the proper spacing will be
from 3 t<? 3 feet vertical drop, which I
sh<?nld make the terraces from 50 J
to 10*1 feet apart. The steeper the j
hill an dthc easier the soil washes j
the closer the tei races should be. j
The spacing max be quite different i
in the same field on account of the j
variations in the slope. In using the j
"table** for finding suggested spac- j
ing, the average slope of the land j
throughout the length of the terrace
should he used as a basis.
In placing terraces on slightlv .
sloping land for conserving rainfall
onlv. they may be spaced 200 to 300
feet apart if desired, although elos
er spacing would give better distri
bution of the water.
I The success of a terrace system
depends largely upon its proper lay
ing off. \ good leveling instru
ment in the hands of i competent [
and experienced engineer is the best
insurance against failure.
Construction always should begin
with the highest terrace in the field,
and each terrace should be com
pleted Iwfore starting the next lower
one. The late fall and earlx winter
is the best time to build terraces.
\ terrace susceptible to failure1
"stil it has become th??i oughl> x*l- j
tied, lo lam it ate settling it is best j
not to cultivate a terrace the first j
? ? >n Its i i om terracing.
Terracing Costs About $2 An Acre
f expense of terracing is al
?"??t entirely an item of labor. It
lias been estimated that S2 an acre
is a fair cost for building terraces.
In addition it probabh will cost a
-mall amount each \ car to maintain
he ridges in woikable condition.
Hie fact that this is practically a
labor cost makes terracing appeal
*?? the man who is interested in re
, dm ?ing soil washing.
i Two horses and a plow, and four
horses on a \ -drag can construct 1 ??
to A i miles of terracing in on** day.
This will cover 1 acres.
Care of Terraces
lerraccs require considerable care
ami attention, especially during the
lirst year, before the loose soil has
had time to become settled thor
oughly. Ml apparently weak plac
es should be visited after every
hea\\ rain and am breaks should be
repaired inunediatelv with a shovel.
It is best not to cultivate the ter
races the first vear. but to seed
them to some kind of cover crop.
In some cases it will be necessary
to clean the channels above the ter
races of sediment, plant growth, or
other material that might start break
overs. Some attention also must be
?liven to tin* outlets to pievent wash- ,
ing at this point. The practice of i
lca\ ing the outlets in sod often is
allowed and is to be recommended".
Main use the excuse for not ter
racing. that terracing makes the cul- 1
livation of the field so difficult. In
some case:* it makes the cultivation
a little more tedious, bill it is work
that pavs well. Terracing should
not cause much trouble with a sow
??d crop, if the terraces are built
h?oad so that implements can work j
over them.
If the field has an excessive slope
i? mav be advisable to terrace it and
then sow it in some kind of grass
and use it for grazing only. Some
times it is best to so wtbe terrace
ridges in some annual grass or sor
?*uim. and then plant an> oiiiei u?
sired crop between Incut.
The best wax to run cmp rows for
year, hut In sow it to a rover crop.
The l>esi results are obtained where
The instructions given herein tor
the selet ?lion and design of terrace
systems are based upon the results
of surveys, observation, and a study
of terraced fields in the best-tar lac
ed sections in this country.
When completed the terrace looks
like a graded road running across
the slope of a hill.
If the field to be terraced receives
drainage from a field above, it
should be terraced, or a hillside
ditch const ^gjted to intercept this
water.
Fields Adapted To Terracing
There is a tendency on the part of
many farmers to terrace fields which
are steep and neglect those which
nave a slight slope but on which the
sheet washing takes away vost
amounts of fertility each season.
Ine benefits of terraces on long
gradual slopes should not be over
looked. for owing to the large vol
ume of water that collects during
heavy rains before it reaches the
?ot of the slope, much washing is
don<*- It is also true that terraces
arp m?eh easier to maintain and
b* built farther apart on gentle
SloDf>? I* -? - "
...v? a(/aii W" g?I,l,C
*topes. It is not very satisfactory'
to terrace steep land and attempt to
cultivate it, for the terraces must be
Placed together, making them ex
pensive to construct, hard to main
and inconvenient for cultiva
tion.
Land with a slope of more than
15 ^ in 100 should be kept in
Pas? or hay crops to get the best
conserving I lie soil and moisture ami
for protecting the terrace ridges, is
1 arallel with the terraces. To run
?ho rows parallel with the terraces,
;? sow* should he placed down the
middle of the terrace ridge. On
: each side of this row other rows are
1 planted at regular intervals until
they reach points about midway to
the next terraces. Then a row is
planted on top of the next terrace
and rows run parallel with it until
they meet with the rows which par
allel the other terrace. This will
leave some places where short rows
must he put in to cover all the ter
ritory between the terraces. These
point rows are what many farmers
; try to avoid. If attention is given
to placing the point rows in pairs
i as much as possible, some extra
driving may he saved in cultivating.
Sometimes the rows are staited on
top a terrace and run one after an
other to the next terrace, where a
new guide row is laid off on this ter
race. This method will make the
point rows at the terrace, which is
not desirable. It is better to have
them midway between terraces.
On way of running all the rows
in the field parallel, is to use one
of the central terraces as a guide
row and then parallel all rows with
it. Most of the terraces will be
crossed by a few of the rows, but at
a small angle.
On farms that slope no more than
2 or 3 feet per 100 feet, the rows are
fremientlv run perfectly straight,
going over the terraces in any di
rection they may happen to hit them.
This would give disastrous results
on steep slopes. The crop rows
should pot run up and down a steep
>r?.pe either with or without terrac
ing.
1 here are several means <?f a?sist
ing terraces in controlling erosion.
IVep plowing will help the land ab
sorh much of the water that would i
run oxer the surface. The addition
of humus or vegetable matter to the ^
soil will cause it to absorb moisture |
more rapidly. Cover crops will
check the wate rand hold the soil.
IVrracing should be considered as
the important factor in checking
I erosion, and as the fiist step toward
j rebuilding, or retaining, a fertile
I soil ?in the sloping lands.
There is little trouble in handling
small srain on terraced fields, ex
eept when the harvest season is wet.
! In this case the ground evry likely
will be soft just above each teira<*e
where the silt has accumulated.
This may cause a little trouble in
' handling the binder.
No established practice i? follow
ed in planting orchards on terraced
land. For convenience in -praying
and other work it has been found
that planting just below the terrace
is good piactice. This makes it eas
ier to maintain the terrace- and ea?
| ier to care for the trees. The spac
1 ing of the terraces i- sometimes
I adapted to the distance between
j ?rees. There i- no special advantage
] * m '-eeiangular planting on hilly
j land, but there is some advantage.
[ in addition to the checking of soil
washig. in contour planting.
Acknowledgements: The author
j wishes to ?-\piess his thanks to the
following for lending cuts and some
of the material used in this article:
I . S. Department of Agriculture. I .
S. Weather Bureau, Colleges of Ag- j
riculture of the Stales of North Car (
olina. Missouri. Illinois. Texas. Ar
kansas. Recorded thoughts is our
chief heritage from the past, the
most lasting legacy we can leave to
the future. Book? are the most en- |
during monument of man's achieve- 1
ments. onl\ through books civiliza- I
tion ran become cumulative.
Good illustrations of teracing
,%,nv be seen at the Garden in the
Sky.
POSTELI.
Mr. Hickman don't want the pro
hibition question investigated by a
committee composed of Tennessee
citizens, he is afraid they would
drink up the evident***.
Some of the Postell boys say the
squirrels will soon be starving to
death becaus^they have grown rap
j idk in number under a policy of too
much protection.
| M r. Jack Payne said it was very
I disagreeable for Dr. Young to open
j a carbuncle on his neck and then
walk a mile home in a cold north
?wind thickened with snow flakes.
!
Mr. J. H. Suit is suffeiing from
I au attack of sciatic rheumatism.
i
After careful consideration the
j w l iter believe?- it would be wise to
l.*-wap of fthe brains ??f tin* prohibi
tion iaw enforcement crew for the
1 brains of the bootleggers.
[ Mr. J. M. Hamby sold a Black
(?iaiit rooster that weighed nine and
one half pounds.
Mr. Gu\ Suit has a nice stark of
lumber oil the sticks to finish his
new dwelling house.
The ? -itizens ran t keep logs on
Mi. V \. Ouinn's niill yard, lie
(,iii?kl\ saw- them into lumber.
Mi. M. M. Cleveland has a nice
country store near Hostel 1. but he is
leaching out more extensively and
has purchased a half interest in a
grocery store at Cleveland. Tenn.
Mr. and Mrs. J. \. Payne and
bal?\. of Crabtree. \. (!., are visit
ing Mr. and Mrs. T. M. Allen. Mrs.
Payne's parents.
There hasn't been ver\ much vis
iting in our community for two
months on account of the flu epi
demic and mudfK roads.
Mr. F. T. Self has cleaned off sev
eral acres of new laud this winter.
Mr. Clate Stiles is making his
farm look like a man lived on it.
Mr. M. M. I.edford planted two
bushels of Irish potatoes last week, j
he is the first to plant in our section.
M iss Blanche Teague mad ea bus
iness trip from Wehutt\. N. C., to]
Postell last Saturday.
! Mr. J. V. Payne left Postell Sun
1 day morning motoring to Watcrs
| ville. Tenn.. where he will do some
i construction work.
I
i
: Mrs. Hattie Allen visited her
j mother, Mrs. Lyda Cotter, of Turtle
J town, Tenn.. last Sundav.
Some people fret their ideas, con
victions and judgments as they get
their clothes and shoes, ready made.
We find in a great many commu
nities so-called leaders that are in
toleiant because it serves their sel
fish purpose^ in view.
Mr. Jim Allen is preparing to
; farm this year and haul acid wood
which will add to his flour bin.
Mr. G. \\ . Junes and Dr. G. M.
^oung ought to 1m* initiated into the
poultry organization for they are
doing a nice business in that line.
Mr. \. \. Quinn just gets his
.plowing started and then it rains
! again, but the more rain the faster
I he can saw logs,
i
Mrs. Delia Suit has about fifty
?.White Leghorn and Plvmoirthrock
I hens and she has sold $59.50 worth
of eggs this year and has got plenty
j of baby chicks up to a fry size. She
! lets her flock run at large on the
farm and she feeds them at 7:30
each year.
Mr. Lusinda Hughes bought a
good pony mule from Mr. Glenn
j Teague last week.
Mr. Glen Teague with his newr
wife has moved to Mr. J. 11. Suit's
farm where he is expecting to farm
this year.
We are proud to see cars on the
road again, our supervisor. Mr. Hill
bad his tractor on the road real
early Monday morning.
Dr. Young says Mrs. Jessie Ma
son's physical condition is a little
belter but her mental condition has
| not improved any.
The condition of Mrs. S. A. Stiles
does not seem to improve very much
she does her sleeping sitting up in
bed or in a rocking-chaifl.
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All-Amcrican. Smartness that results from
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quality and finer performance for its price.
PrUmm #1145 to $H75 ./?<>. h. Pontiar, Mich., plum deli re r\ rharge*. Spring rot?ri
mnd Love joy Hydraulic Shock Absorber m included in li*t price*, hum per a and rear
fender gumrd * extra. Check Oakland delivered price* ? I hey include Unreal handling
chmrgae. Cmmerml Motor* Time Payment Pimm available ml minimum rata.
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MURPHY, N. C.
THE NEW OAKLAND
ALL AMERICAN SIX
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