Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-06-13

rARrMENr OF AoRscuEJuno
SOUNDS WARMING 10 oavssgJse
More Soil es;ns Washsd lsas -
Than Was Mivsd - 0uiid paaasln
OanaI-Tetal psstruetie0 q osspo
Lands Certain Usisss p,svsn1ative
Measures Aso Adopted
Especial co.,espondsnes.l

- a.
Washington. Juno 13.-The depaSts
msnt OF agriculture IL once more oall.
Ing attention to the tremendous sco-
nomic losses to tho country involved -
the erosion OF the soil. These losses.
tho their Importance - frequently nOe
appreciated, run into huss sums anA
the department feels that unles proper
methods are taken to check them. thsy
will gradually result In the completo7
ruin OF many valuable agricultural 80.
tions.
Strangely enough. this country hAo
given almost no attention to the fall
ure to conserve the waste Of natural
resources involved In soil erosion-
China, where. with enormous populas
tions. It has been q case OF conserving
the fertility Of the soil or starvin0. hAA
gone far ahead Of this country In th1R
respect.
costs Mill;ens Yearly.
The late issue OF tho aST10uleuEo8
yearbook. in an article prepared BY II
O. E. Davis, scientists OF the burSAAFok
soils. deals at length with the eoo-
nomic waste from soil erosion. Allu0-
ing to the fertile soil material that =
beaten down the hillsides and slopab
by the rains and then carried by the
creeks to tho rivers and by the ffveSO
to the sea, MI. Davis says this pFocoso
IL costing the Unitsd Statas mtHiouo e
dollars yearly. "a
He makes the striking stAtssnont
chat the amount Of good soil material
passing yearly to the sea exceeds BY
more than two times tho total ane0nt
Of material removed in diggtng eAo
Panama canal" Il z ss.'
Many Aerss ,Dsseeeyea
Mr. Davis estimates that ne UA1te4
States - suffering the loss g e56seeo.
900 10 3loo.oeesoo6 annually thze -
agency OF erosion. The national &C..
nearly II, ooo. 900 acres Of. A0A1000e4
farm land "a the United 0tReo4 1gk
Of It damaged and 0ver on0-thA4 Or
about 1000. 900 sores. actually -
stroyed BY erosion. AZ An aveeaGo orig,
inal value Of SO this would uaean =
loss OF $A0e0o,0oo. The loss from non-
production II estimated to be probaAayl
a. much yearly. Added to this. aro
losses to navisation and water power
and expense IN the keeping open Of
channels OF streams.
Alarming Figures.
Tho enormous volume Of tho 0oo0
soil annually carried away to the -
by the rains and streams 10 thus de-
scsabed:
1T has BEEN estimated that tho Ais.j
sloDfpSu Fivef, which drains over ones
third Of the area OF the United SsA4oA
delivers to the Gulf Of Mexico hUm
80. .ooo 900 to sso.ooO.ooo tons OF ssss-
pended material yearly. Accepting tho
lower figure and assuming lower rate
for the rest Of the United Sttaes. 600.-.
100000 tons. the total amount OF soil
material carried to tho seas amounts
to $4,000, 900 tons a year. Assuming
that one half Of this ID unnecessary
waste, there is an annual loss Of ovsr.
loo, 100000 tons Of soil material Thi.
means q pYeventable waste yearly Of
more material than was removed In
digging the Panama canal. But this
IL only part Of the story. Tor only .
small portion Of the soil brought down
from iAe hills is carried to the mouths
OF the rivers. What proportion Il -
impossible to estimate"
Methods Of Prevention.
The point to tho story of thsss
enormous losses - that the depart.
ment is urging the adoption Of meth
DDS Of prevention. Much can b. done
by way Of reclamation. Nature her-
self does something In that direction.
But, better than reclamation, - pre-
vention. The building Of tersacss and
other obstructions to prevent tlso fun-
of of the soil n q prRct1cahso method
In China and Europe this method io
widely employed. Another method 10
to increase the porosity Of tls1 soil by
deep plowing. dynamiting ana tho Mla,
thus bringing about heavy absorption.