Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-05-22

QUILTED FIELD l
prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
The existence of vast areas of So
called WORKOUT hill lands throughout
the United States may be attributed
chiefly to soil erosion, due to the
natural agencies of wind, frost and
rain. In most localities wind and
frost, owing to their comparatively
slow processes, play but minor part
in the depletion of the soil and the ulti-
mate destruction of good farm lands.
1t Is the failure of the soil to absorb
the rain water which falls upon it that
presents by far the most serious as
pect of the problem. AS an indication
Of the damage done by erosion, it is
estimated that the Potomac river each
year carries off in solution about 400
pounds of solid matter per acre of
land drained, containing plant food
sufficient to produce a crop. Unless
such loss be replaced annually by
natural agencies or the application of
fertilizer, it is obvious that the land
soon will deteriorate greatly in pro-
ductiveness and eventually be aban-
doned.
In addition to the loss through ero-
sion of the soluble elements of the
soil, q noticeable impairment occurs
in the physical condition of the soil.
When the moving water washes the
soil particles from the surface of the
hillside and deposits them on the land
below, the heavier particles, or the
sandy constituents of the soil, are de-
posted first, and the finer, or clay,
parts last. Since neither pure sand
nor pure clay possesses the produc-
tive characteristics observed in a soil
composed of the proper intermixture
of sand and clay Particles, it is appar-
ent that the effect of this sorting pro-
cess is to diminish greatly the fertility
or productive power Of the soil. Hence,
not only the eroded land suffers but
also the land at lower level upon
which the eroded material is deposited.
Forms Of Erosion.
Erosion due to moving water occurs
in two forms-sheet washing and gull
lying. Small areas are practically
ruined by outlying, while sheet wash
ing diminiShes the productive power
of large areas.
Outlying generally Is the most
dreaded of the two types on account
of it's more apparent destructive eff
fects. Where the ravages of erosion
proceed unchecked, deep gullies in
yariably develop in the field. Their
appearance causes not only absolute
loss of land and inconvenience in cul-
tivating, but marked lowering in the
water table, with a possible accom-
panying Inability of the soil to retain
the proper moisture content for the
production of crops and to Withstand
periods Of drought.
The injury due to sheet washing,
which occurs throughout. the United
States, generally is underestimate
and is regarded by many farmers as
of no particular consequence. 1t is
this type of erosion that slowly can
ries away the very fertility of the soil
without apprising the farmer--except
through slightly diminished crop yields
each year-that the application of
remedial measures is imperative in
order to save his farm.
Methods of Preventing Erosion.
Erosion is due chiefly to the free
movement of water over the surface
of the d. which carries off particles
of soil If all rain water were abb
sorbed by the ground upon which it
falls. soil erosion would be reduced to
a minimum. 1t is obvious, therefore,
that in order to prevent or reduce
erosive action the soil must receive
treatment that is conducive to the ad-
mission and the storage of large guam
titles of rain water; and methods must
be employed to reduce the velocity,
and thereby the Transporting power,
of the run-off water.
Since the storage capacity of soil
depends upon its porosity, any treat
ment which results in an increased
porosity of the soil will reduce erosion
materially. This porous condition
usually is obtained directly by deep
blowing and by a thorough incorpora-
ton cf organic matter in the soil.
Methods of subsurface drainage which
lower the ground water Level improve
the porous structure of the soil and in
crease its ability to absorb surface
water. The treatment of cover, such
as seeding land to pasture, growing
timber, and planting cover crops in the
winter, tends TO check and diminish
erosion greatly. Other methods which
retard the flow of the water and con-
duct the excessive run-off from the
field with a reduced amount of erosion,
are ccatour blowing, hillside ditching
and terracing.
Deep Tillage.
BY deep blowing the absorptive pow
er and reservoir capacity of a soil is
Increased greatly. 1t is said that ten
inches of loose, plowed soil will alb
sorb two inches of rainfall. The in
corporation of organic matter or