Cleaning ditches by hand was brutal work and people sought mechanical means wherever possible

The horse drawn ditcher shown above was a great improvement over the earlier ditchers in which a heavy "V" shaped blade, similar to the one mounted under this ditcher, had to be managed by hand.

Because ditches carry water, vegetation grows rapidly in them and soon chokes them so water cannot get through. They can be cleaned by hand with a shovel but it is very hard and time consuming work.

Above is a picture of what must have been the mother of all ditchers. That is to say, it is a very large ditcher. It would have required a lot of horses to pull it and would only have been useful on level ground.