The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-06-24

| serve TINS source OF me- we must lo0R
forward to the time; REMOTE it may
l.be, yet clearly discernMbfe. when our
kind, having wasted its greatest in
heritance, will fade from the earth
becauseyofxths Mitl Ut has hccomp-
lished." III
By soil washing, or erosions the up
per and most fertile parts Of the soil
are washed away until the land be-
comes barren and unproductive. Deep
gullies are formed which result in an
actual loss of land for cultivation, a
lowering of the water table and de-
ficient supply Of moisture. Drainage
bitches are often filed up with sand
which frequently results in the food
ing Of the adjoining bottom land and
the destruction of crops. Rich bot
tom lands are often covered with de-
posits of sand washed from the hill
lands. Both the upland and lowland
farmers are damaged by this erosion,
the former by loss of soil fertility, the
latter by covering of his crops with
this deposit,
This erosion can be checked, If not
entirely stopped, by the Simple pro-
cess of slowing down the speed of the
water as it runs over the field. The
sleeper the slope, the greater is the
erosiye action of the running water.
If the slope be increased four times,
the velocity of the water down the
slope is about double and the power
of the water to carry away soil parti-
cles is increased about thirty-two
times. Rows that run up and down
the slope, when cultivated, form small
bitches that concentrate the water
and increase the amount of erosion.
Since erosion is due largely to the
rapid movement of the rain water ov-
err the surface of the ground, methods
of erosion must chuse the water eth
er to sink into the soil or flow away
slowly over tile surface to drainage
shannel. IF the rainwater were alb
sorbed by the soil as fast as it falls,
there would be very little erosion. A
porous or open soil will absorb much
of this water. This porous condition
can be brought about by deep plow-
ing, blowing under organic matter,
the practice of tile drainage, and, in
certain soils, the use of explosives.
Also, cover crops protect the ,'soil
from the direct action of the rain
and check the flow of the water over
the surface, giving the soil a better
opportunity to absorb the water. 1t
is therefore important that some kind
of cover crop, such as clover, wheat,
or rye, be grown on the land during
the winter or at any time that the
land Ia not used for other crops. Cob
tour blowing, which consists of break
ing the ground along level lines across
the slopes. reduces the flow of water
directly down the slope. Also, in
planting and cultivating the crops,
the same level lines are followed so
that a shallow trough is made above
each row. Most of the rain water is
caught and held in this trough until it
either evaporates or is absorbed by
the soil.
. Terracing is the most effective
method of preventing erosion. and it
is doubly effective when all of the
above methods are employed in con-,
nection with it. Terraces have been
used in some of the southern states
for years. They have been used in
Missouri for several years. Many
farms in the state have q few acres,
terraced. Several farms in St. Fran
co.'s county have had some, terraeing'
done on them. One farmer in the
county who had one field terraced, re.
marked that this would mean the saw
ing of $500 in few years. Such a
statement may seem unreasonable to
one who has not given the subject
any thought. The reason for this is
that the amount Of soil fertility pres
ent has not been basis upon which
land values are figured. Step by step
this measure of value will become
more prominent. The farmer, that
made this statement was placing the
proposition on the right basis. He
knew that enough soil fertility would
be wasted by erosion in a few years,