The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1928-05-11
LAND USE
AND FORESTRY.
INV w. c. Coffey, Dean and Director
Department Of Agriculture
~" of Mimi j.


wasting of our land resources. on
this account the American public owes
1t to coming generations to put into
oneration a wise forestry policy with
out further delay, for there Is no more
important question than the mainten-
ance of the producing power OF the
land.
We deplore waste. We applaud any
industry that eliminates 1t. Inc
American meat packer gained a ire
mendous amount of favorable notor1-
ETY. when he proclaimed to the world
that he utilized all of the pig except
the soueal. We admire well kept
farm not only because OF the appear
of its beauty but also because we nave
the feeling that the land is being uth-
lied to advantage without waste. re-
call riding through the burnt over re-
pions in Minnesota four years after
the disastrous fire of 1918. Over and
over again was I shocked by the con-
tinous stretches of dead trees-wasteo
timber, and raised the question, is
this not potential fire wood?" recau
now disappointed I was when was
told that it was not feasible to con-
vert all those dead trees into 1uel.
Hundreds, yes thousands, must heVe
felt Just as did about it.
Yes. we are shocked by displays OF
wanuon waste, we exclaim at examples
OF conservation. Mere shocks and ex-
c1amauons do not necessarily mean
that we have correct understanding
OF either waste or conservation now
ever. A thing may look like oeautl-
tul example of conservation and YET
harbor an awful canker OF waste In It's
BOSOM. on one occasion I saw beautl-
tuI expanses of potato fields In the
Red River Valley which made me feel
mat all was well with the SOIL there
But was it2 There was great over
p,oducuon of potatoes. The price was
,uinous 10 producers. Too much lana
VAS planted TO potatoes; the yields per
acre were too high. Hopes were
u,asCed. efforts were wasted, but was
tuaC all? No. Fertility was taken
,.om Ine soil and there was too little
.ncome IIom the crop 10 permit OF re-
al. uIug 1t. Therefore, soil fertility
WAS wasved, too, and that was un-
fortunate tor both the present genera
uon and future generations.
Tne producing power OF the Land Is
the nation's greatest asset. SO long
as we nave vast areas of high produc-
ing land, we have the basis for ma
t.onal prosperity. The moment we DO
not have them, that basis Will be re-
moved and there will be no substitute
in the offing This is what seems TO
be so hard for us Of America TO real
ize. and until we do, we shall not nave
the spirit of conservation embedded IN
our very bones. We must not make
ourselves ridiculous by supposing that
we are SO ingenious that we can easily
overcome any kind of loss. The spirit
O.; conservation is far safer than that
spirit which assumes that we have the
ability to replace any exhausted re-
source so vital as soil fertility.
What are the fundamentals under
living the wise use of land-that use
which supplies our needs and con-
serves the producing power OF the land
indefinitely One fundamental is that
those who occupy it shall be prosper
Gus and efficient. Unprosperous tillers
of the soil will exploit it; they Will re-
duce the land before they will reduce
themselves. This Is only natural
human trait. There has been an
enormous loss in soil fertility a severe
economic depression. But many OF the
farmers have raised their standard OF
living because the movement amongst
American people generally has been
toward higher standard. They have
had to choose between keeping up
their land and keeping up with other
: groups in society. The net result Is
that the land suffered winch Is most
unfortunate not only for farmers, but
Ior the nation as whole. The situa-
Clon has been so bad that the nation
las become aroused, and let us hope
mat a public consciousness relative to
intelligent land use will grow out OF 1t.
obviously another fundamental in
the wise handling of land is its dis
tribution to different uses so that it
can adequately supply our needs
When too much land is devoted to po-
tatoes and not enough to something
else-say dairying, there is maladjust-
ment In which both the people and
the land lose. One Of the most d1fh-
cult tasks before us is the development
t,of mill
logical basis for concerted action In
preventing over-emphasis in others.
Variation in crop yields due to varia-
lions In climatic conditions affecting
the growth of crops Is a very large
factor in this matter and causes many
&c question the ACCESSIBILITY of at
tempting to adjust crop acreages to
our needs. But Notwithstanding this
disturbing factor, it Is very impor-
tant matter and one we must continue
to work at until we can operate on
better basis than at present.
There are many retarding factors in
solving this problem. should like to
emphasize two of them. One Is fail
ure, on the part of the public, to real
lie what all Of our needs are with re-
spect to land use, or If not that the
conditions under which the land must
be handled if it is to supply the need.
The other factor is the large amount
of land that is in indefinite or un-
stable position with respect to use.
Land Of this sort is called marginal
land. Il may be marginal from vari-