TIIE PROGRESSIVE .FARMER.
1294 (10)
PLOWHANDLE TALKS.
PROF. SHERWIN'S PLAN FOR
STOPPING GULLIES. .
Not For Ordinary Washes, But For
i the Big Unmanageable Ones. ;
there can be no question that it is
better to do the job of filling at once,
and have" it done with; but there are
gullies and gullies. The method out
lined by Professor Sherwin can be
successfully used,: we' feel sure, on
A FEW weeks ago, we read in The the 'great devastating washes in pas
Progressive Farmer the story of tures and abandoned fields which the
Prof. Sherwin's recently acquired average farmer regards as entirely,
gully and his theory of how he would beyond his control. In short, this is
fill it that he would lay pipe at the a method. to be used on the big un
lower end, build a dam over the pipe, manageable gullies which laugh at
just above the dam have an upright terrace banks and which in many
connecting pipe a little lower than cases have carried away acres of soil,
the top of the dam with a wire The time to stop a gully Is when It
screen over the top of the pipe, this starts or before but if any1 reader
pipe, to take the overflow of water, has on his place a gully so big feat
Then he expects the erosion from he hesitates to tackle it, we believe
other parts of the field to fill the gul- 'it will pay him to, give Professor
ly. He did not say but it is 'pre- Sherwin's plan a trial. -E". E.' M. ' 1
sumed he would have several of these '
dams with pipe outlets if the gully ,
was of much-length or considerable
descent. ,
A gully can be filled in this way,
at the expense of other portions of
the field, except that the sections im
mediately below the dams where the
pipes must be left uncovered will still
be Open. This method will also take
. mm t n
a long time, mucn longer man re
r "Fools Burn Leaves'
SOME years ago, I bought . a place
jsvhere there was a poor sandy
garden. We raised four potatoes in
a. hill size of hickory nuts, other
crops like that. We got one small one
horse load of fresh - horse manure,
then raked leaves from a large front
yard, ' and put on the garden, set
quired to make the gully, ' unless raspberries, grapes, pie plant, aspar-
ereat abrasion is Dermitted in other agus, etc. We threw all House -slops
m
DC
portions of the field. I wondered
any practical farmer would lay asicio
the present simple method of filling
gullies and adopt the pipe theorj'.
on garden, summer and- winter.
Coarse kitchen slops were buried
first one place than another, all oyer
the garden! In winter they were
Then the next week, as if to fix the spread all over Ihe garden and
theory, The Progressive Farmer car
ried cuts illustrating the pipe theory.
The simple practice is this, and I
doubt if there is any improvement.
Lay-off terraces to suit every por
tion of the field as if no gullies were
forked in in the spring. 1 We soon
had, as fine a garden as I ever, saw
any where, and much to sell.
The grass raked after the lawn
mover also was used to mulch rose-'
bushes, raspberries and asparagus or
there, crossing the gully wherever, grapes. With our grape vines well
the terrace happens to intersect it. pruned after leaves fell in fall, laid
There may be one, or a half-dozen down and covered'-with leaves, held
terracejg across the same gully. At in place by old sacks, boards, etc.,
each terrace crossing build a good and left protected until danger of
dam of sufficient strength and high spring frosts was past. So we never
enough to connect with the terrace lost grapes by, spring frosts, usually
bank on each side of the gully and had more : grapes; raspberries, rhu-
form a part of the same. Then should
there be an excess of water at any
time' the overflow will follow the ter
race. As rows conducting water to
ward the gully approach it, open
an occasional row into the gully.
Then use the gully as a . receptacle
for all .kinds of trash and debris
about the field, or farm. Into it
throw roots, stumps, stones, brush
and any unsightly stuff you wish to
barb, asparagus, lettuce, celery,
radishes; tomatoes, and truck geh-
erally than a large family could use,
divided with my neighbors and had
some to" sell at times besides. 1
I agree with Mr. Powell, "Fools
burn, the leaves." -;
How often we see them raked into
the street with old bones and set on
fire, often; damp, making a filthy
smoke, . a nuisance to the neighbors
Are oiif; ;:.:V;';;
Cutting Your
by Hand?
THEN you know the hard labor and long
A. time required to cut your winters supply.
With a power-driven circular saw you can cut more cords of
wood in one day than you did in several by the old hand method
and with much less exertion. - "
This is one of the suggestions in our book on
SAWS TOOLS. FILES
. Sold by all Progressive Hardware Dealer
and the cost of a saw, mandrel and belt is but nominal compared with the
results obtained. . .. r
The book contains complete information on Diss
ton Saws and Tools especially adapted for farm
use, as well as instructions for their proper care.
li is neeaea on every tarm. oimpiy write tor the
Disston
Mandrel
xisstun rann 1001 jdook ana n wui De
. sent free by return mail.
"There is no, substitute for su DISSTON."
HENRY DISSTON & SONS, Incorporated
Keystone Saw, Tool, Steel and File Works
P.O. Box Bl 537- PHILADELPHIA, PA.
""" '
making manure, or turn them under
get out of the way and make it also and passersby and a great waste of deeply atthis season of the year.
WM. HART HARRISON.
Prince George, Va.
country, with which he is not fa
miliar. ,
Farmers' Institutes, experiment
stations, departments of agriculture,
,-- . : " .. good farm papers, have all helped a
Has the Small Farmer Been Given class ?' farmers who arerin a meas-
5mioM nMi) ure abIe to help themselves, while
. -: a square ueai r the man who stands most in need of
'HILE
you are doing a good work for benefit.
lieve, that there is no benefit de- the support of all progressive farm- fluence with the Department of Ag-
humus and fertility, leaving only
ashes to blow into homes about, or
wash away to be lost.
ALTON M. WORDEN.
Tullahdma, Tenn.
IWt Burn the Cornstalks. W'r r . t?"?l ZIT".
" w jfuu aio uumg a guuu wora lor ucueut. . A.
li GOOD many persons say and be- the farmers of the South, and deserve My idea is that you use your in-
serve a purpose. Break off the edges
of the gully and tumble it-in upon;
the trash as soon as the gully can be
crossed with plow do so. In a very
short time the gully has undergone
a transformation, and is the richest
spot in the field.
I have a neighbor who, after giv
ing the treatment above, uses a one
horse drag scoop, and taking a load
of dirt here and there at convenient rived from the cornstalk. Right here ers, still I think you make a mistake riculture, State Experiment Stations,
distances, fills the gully - the first is were they make abig mistake. I in dismissing the "one-horse farmer" and all farm demonstrators to give
year, believing that it is cheaper than know f ronr. experience that when with the" comment that he can get the one-horse farmer this full atten-
turning on the bank nd waiting for cornstalks are plowed under; during another horse if he so desires. This tion for awhile, till they get him in a
several years for it to fill. ' late fall and early winter, they 'add may be true in a few instancesbut better situation, then help him the
I quite agree rwith Prof. Sherwin, greatly to the fertility .of the soil,- I think it-doubtful that it would best- way in the world by leaving
that it is a shameful thing to have and also have a 'tendency to lighten prove true in many, cases. him to help himself. If these de
these unsightly gullies on the farm. up. stiff or heavy soils.; In this, way The trouble .with a great. many of partments would have : the demon
A farm is something more than a I find them to be very valuable; tho the poor fellows is that they are in, strators look up the small farmers,
mere inanimate thing. It responds I find that they are much more val-; a rut and can't lift themselves out, get them into clubs, and'agsociatlons,
to kind treatment. It makes , re uable when used as feed for cattle, while the men you would suppose to put their teams together for sub
turns for nourishing food. It blooms cut or shredded, and the -manure would gladly assist them are afraid soiling and cultivating a few acres
and blossoms with rosy and dimpled made from them applied to' the land. ;to advance aidto a class of people with;improved machinery, work out
cheeks, if the treatment, care and In this way stock consume a large who have never shown a capacity for plans for them to co-operate! in buy
environment are wholesome. It portion of them. A goodly, per cent greater things. Business men are not lng machinery, supplies, etc.and in
brings forth bountiful crops under of the feed value of the corn crop much given to charity; they must selling their products afUr they once
the kind gentle touch of a friend. lies In the stalks and fodder, and necessarily take a business view of cultivate a few acres 'under intelli-
When I see a field all marked and ought not to be wasted by N burning the one-horse farmer's means and gent management with up-to-date
scarred by gullies and other evi- them, as a good many farmers do opportunities. tools, it is not probable that many of
dences of mis-treatment, I know at just to get them out of the way in Nearly all of the one-horse farm- them would be willine to return to
once u nas Deen m oaa compau, ww oynug. ine iew ngnxk asnes ers uaye innemea.ineir non-progres-.just
as some men carry in their faces from a pile of cornstalks benefit .the sive ways four" furrows to the row,
scars and Tarulses and hard features land vary little, as I have noticed planting on the light and the dark of
from contact with eln.,(Yes, it is a, tnis several years ago, when I did, the moon, etc. Few of them take
not know any better, following the any paper, except some r.mintrv
same rule of burning.' ' weekly, that deals mostly in politics flarmef ;th mo,t PP"cabie of any farm
Take my advice and tiever burn and if it gives anv ainnlf ,
the cornstalks, if you desire to se- mation, it Is given in a condenspri undertake or comprehend. Any
old methods.
Ruffln, N. C.
H. L. GRIFFITH.
shame to mistreat a farm.
Cafy N. 0.
T. IVEY,
-
I And f.he advice of The Progressive
Editorial Oommentt With ordi- cure the most benefit from them, but form, or tr nf onmiii f "J l.r.?5 anr5i,0,L tn.teac.hn?
... . ... . , . , mi , ' . ' - - wfc4u(, auuii- .iviichiti ivrmcr. XOU are doing;
nary gullies In a. cultivated field utilize .them in feeding stock, and cable to some other section of the whuJaPinaendTe5Bu1 work ' 1L WAlker