Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-04-27
THE WASTE FROM SOIL
EROSION IN THE SOUTH.
BY w. w. ASHE.

Geological and Economic Survey.)
clare that a loss Of so many dollars
in the yield of crop Is to be attri-
buted to It. The enormous aggregate
is indicated only by the silt and the
plant food annually borne from the
hillside farm by the rivers Of the south
east. Every stream that flows through
The fertile hill country Of the south
bears its rich burden of plant food, a
golden argosy, on its way to the sea-
The greater portion Of the mineral
constituent Is clay and silt particles
which are most easily attacked by the
roots Of the plants for their food; but
much, and the most important part,
is the organic matter, the humus or
manural portion of the soil, which, on
account of Its lightness, is so easily
washed away from the slope. From
one-sixth to one-fourth Of the material
which produces the turbidity Of the
rivers is humus, and it comes almost
entirely from the farming soils. 1t
Is the lightest portion Of the soil, and
the portion which is most easily trans
ported by the slowest moving water
when the heavier silt and sand Is left
behind. It is absolutely necessary for
the growth Of crops, and 1t must be
replaced by the addition of manure In
some form to the soils. Ten million
dollars year will not replace 1t In
the hillside soils whence 1t came and
where it is so badly needed.
The Rich Burden Of the Rivers.
The Roanoke yearly bears from the
productive limestones Of the valley of
Virginia and the red foothills Of its
mountains more than 100000 tons OF
soil. It discolors the waters of the
sound into which it empties to dis
tance Of forty miles beyond its mouth.
The burden of the Alabama river ex-
ceeds 100000 tons. The Tennessee
river swells the already naturally high
turbidity of the Mississippi by the an
nuaI discharge Of 100000 tons, the
securing Of the fertile farms Of Ala
bama, Tennessee and Kentucky. The
Savannah, the Yadkin, the Santee, the
Cnattahoochee contribute as much;
while It is estimated by the army en-
gineers in charge Of the river improve
ment work on the James that this riv-
er brings down, during a flood with
crest Of ten feet, more than 100000
cubic yards of earth every twenty-four
hours, and it has been known to color
the waters of the Atlantic ocean far
beyond the capes.
An enormous total Of not less than
so, 100000 tons of the most fertile soil
Of the farms of the upland south Is the
'unwelcome gift Of the hills to the riv-
ers each year.
The Savannah and many Of the 9TH
er rivers of the south are reported to
| have been clear, except during floods,
until the latter part Of the eighteenth
century, and there are many tradi-
tions current in northern Georgia that
the Chattahooche, now one Of the mud
diest of southern rivers, was at one
time usually pellucid and sparkling
Some erosion has always taken place.
The deep gorges which ramify through
the soft rocks of the Piedmont were
carved by erosion, but 1t was a slow
process. The fertile soil which was
borne in small amounts from the for
ested slopes was then deposited over
the broad alluvials, constantly enrich
ing them and gradually building them
up. Now, however, few Of even the
smaller streams become clear except
for short periods Of low water.
i With the excessive erosion which has
followed the ruinous tillage and sub
sequent abandonment Of the hillside
farms, the enormous volume Of earth
which the -maddened waters car
nv away is no longer deposited for the
enrichment of the valleys. A part OF
Il fills up reservoirs and ponds or set
ties as shifting silt bars in the chan
nels of nayigable rivers and In harbors,
while the coarser material is deposited
in great beds over the once fertile al
luyial bottoms; and from the ruin OF
the hillside follows the loss Of the val
leys.
The cultivation Of thousands Of acres
of such land has been abandoned along
the rivers Of the Piedmont, notably
along the Wateree, the Broad, the
Yadkin, the Catawba, and the Saluda
rivers. The telesraphic dispatches OF
nearly every flood contain some item
chronicling the burying Of the valley
farms beneath sand-beds.
Floods on the Increase.
There is no doubt also that the height
of the river floods which have been so
destructive to property in the south
during the past ten years has been
materially increased through the fall
ure of the sunbaked surface OF the
waste land to absorb It's due proportion
of the rainfall. Higher floods than for
merly are now produced by the same
amount of rainfall, indicating the
greater rapidity Of the run-off and the
lessened absorption. The flood losses
of the south for the past ten years ag-
gregate more than $25,000,000, and
with the multiplication Of factories and
towns along the rivers, this lost must
continue unless the soils perform their
proper function. The recent losses at
Augusta, Ga, Fayetteville, N. c., Che
raw, s. c., and elsewhere are only In
dications Of what may be expected
more frequently If the large areas OF
the unabsorptive. close-textured clays
continued to shed so large q portion OF
their rainfall into the rivers, without
absorbing what they could If In forest
or under a rational system Of cultiva-
ton. simultaneously with the increase
in the floods there Is a corresponding
decrease in the water flow, seri-
ously interfering with navigation and
the value Of water powers.
Industries dependent upon water