The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1906-05-31
Farmers Are Chief Sufferers
by Action Of the Eli
ements.
DEEP FURRoW
The Moving Of Fertile Land by Water
10 Not Confined TO Streams. ~
Many Farmers Know to
Their Sorrow.
From county Life I'm America.

The moving OF soil by water h not
confined To large streams. rs many
farmers know To their sorrow. Every
tiny rili trickiing down the slope car
ries OF some OF the finest and richest
soil OF the farm. After a heavy rain
the spring Ii roily and the puddles In
the hollows are muddy with IL. The
deep burrows left up and down the
slope by the cuitivator teeth become
miniature water courses, and the trick
ling water exacts "A tribute OF rich soil
before IL Joins the large rill by the
road. The soil OF the cornfield that was
left bare all winter has lost some Of Its
best loan by planting time. Guilies
appear on the farm mere and there.
widening and deepening after every
rain. Inc soil on the knobs and hill
sides becomes thin and yellow: for the
rich. black surface soil has been washed
into the bottoms and part OF IL has
hurried on To help build up some cx-
cellent farming land about ten miles
down stream.
After a heavy rain the farmer can
see the best part OF his soil creeping.
running. racing away from him. n
thousand murky rills slowly meander
across his ploughed ground. and gath
cr forces Ia the hollows. A hundred
turbid riyuiets pour down the hollows
and Join waters In the gulch. A dog
On muddy brooklets rush down the
gulch. swell the brook into O creek and
race down stream, bearing away tons
of the rich silt and loan that make
plants grow. When the rain In over
and the soaked soil has dried out
enough TO I'LL. there are graveiiy places
that the farmer finds II hard to make
productive. and rocks are exposed that
have never been above the surface be-
fore.
Many Farms Ruined.
Unchecked erosion has ruined many
farms and seriously hurt many others.
Thousands or acres OF valuable farming
land. particularly the red clay soils of
the south and the loose. shaly soils of
the north. are gouged and quilted every
year until they become practically val.
ueless for cropping. have seen many
hundreds OF acres ruined by washing
Ia the Carolinas. Tennessee and Geor-
gia. On most farms. however. the loss
IN less conspicuous and more insidious.
Every farm that has AN irregularity of
surface. however slight. pays tribute To
the force that does more leveling In an
hour than all the patent leyeling ma
chimes have ever done or ever will do.
A very important problem for the
farm owner TO consider In how TO check
erosion chearly and effectively. The
plan that will be most successful de-
ponds upon the locality. the lay OF the
land. the kind OF soil. the crop. and
many other local matters. In extreme
eases IL has been found necessary TO
retain wooded areas running across the
slopes that are subject To washing and
otherwise disposed so as TO prevent the
gathering OF water. The water-coursea
should be loo.sd to carefully. A little
work directing streamiets into legiti.
mate channels In time well spent. There
are various methods OF holding the sol.
with plants. A cover crop OF rye. cloy.
er. vetch. etc. sown In the orchard OF
corniield In late summer may do much
TO prevent surface washing during the
winter. Steep banks may be held with
luack grass: slopes may be put into
meadows. Cultiyating across the slopes
instead OF up and down will save many
Tiny leaks that amount TO n serious loss
IN some cases. Many other methods OF
checking erosion Will suggest them
selves TO the man who has this problem
to solve. and the methods born OF per.
sonnl need and local experience are apt
to be most efficient.
The loss by erosion In. believe, one
~ the largest leaks OF American farms
today. IL II bound to increase as our
wooded area decreases. This loss can.
not be entirely prevented. as long aS
the rain falls upon land that IL not per.
fectly level. But large part OF n
can be prevented. How to do this II
worth considering by every man who
has the problem on his hands