The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-04-19

we'll, in Charge Of Erosion Control.
tie With Dust.
very large part of the readily avail
able plant nutrients. He declared that
the soil Is lost as surely as if it were
burned in a fire.
Unless immediate steps are taken
and this rapid destruction is stopped
by $780," said Mr.. INLAND, Missouri
will have to produce the major portion
of her crops on one-fifth of the land
now ON crops" The Missouri condi-
ton is, of course, typical of the whole
stricken area.
The work of erosion control, before
the latest tragedy, was spread among
the Department of Agriculture, the De-
partment of the Interior and the Civil
ian Conservation corps. To meet the
present crisis all erosion control has
been placed under the Department of
Agriculture with ReXford Guy Tugwell
undersecretary, supervising the work
He will unity the efforts of the Inte-
rior departments soil-erosion service,
CCC camps engaged in erosion control,
the AAA, the forest service, the bureau
of chemistry and soils, and the bureau
of agricultural engineering.
One million dollars was the amount
agreed upon for Doctor Tugwells
crews to begin work, after a visit to
Washington of Gov. Alfred M. Landon
of Kansas to plead for funds for the
project. The FERA expressed willing
ness for its workers to be turned over
to the job. The work will be extended
over all of the states badly affected.
Weapons of War.
Chief weapons in the war against
wind erosion will be listing" and
blowing methods which have worked
out satisfactorily in the Texas Pan
handle demonstration center of the
soil erosion service. Farmers and the
states themselves will furnish the
fleet Of 10000 tractors necessary for
the job. Listing" consists of blowing
deep burrows across fields at right
angles to prevailing winds in affected
areas; this tends to break the force
of the wind and cause it to drop dust
that it is carrying. This is Governor
Landon's favored method.
Nebraska urges its farmers to plant
soil-rotating crops and grasses. Texas
would plant sorghum, which retains
soil and moisture. 1t is advisable to
use machines which do not pulyerize
the soil, but develop a cloddy and
roughened surface. The soil should
be cultivated at the proper time to
conserve what moisture it contains.
Machinery used should be of the kind
that will incorporate stubble and other
plant residues in the surface soil. The
Fort Hays (Kan.) agricultural expert
ment station advises the replanting of
all eroded land which was once graz
ing country with buffalo grass, and has
perfected method for the replanting.
In an attempt to learn the true orr
gin of dust storms and try to put an
end to them, the federal government
has begun a soil erosion project at
Huron, S. d. In addition, there are
10000 acres of land in South Dakota
where the soil-erosion service will try
to build barrier to wind erosion and
build up the soil by rerracing, strip
cropping, counter-cultivation and mois-
ture cultivation.
Projects are also under way in near
ly every part of the country to defeat
lob hxJ bn
washing of storm waters-which has
destroyed 35,0O0,O00 acres of good farm
land. An interesting step in this
direction was law passed in Wiscon-
sin in late March, which exempts
fenced, wooded slopes from taxation.
One Hundred-Mile Barrier.
Wind removed the topsoil of tie
Great plains-and air, coupled with
sunshine, will replace it, if the right
vegetation is planted, according to
the New York state college Of forestry
at Syracuse university, but it is a
process that will take many decades
to finish. Prof. S. o. Heiberg says
that 10 per cent of the topsoil is de-
cayed plant matter. The otner W per
cent is actually air and sunshine con-
verted into loam-carbon extracted
from the air by plants in breathing
carbon dioxide into sugars and
starches, which remain there.
Joining the combat against wind
erosion, the forest service will set up
a $15,0OOOOO shelter-belt of trees, to
stretch from North Dakota to the
Texas Panhandle. This forest barrier,
100 miles wide and more than 1900
miles long. following roughly the line
of IS inches rainfall, is intended TO
restore the water level, improve living
conditions within the belt, act as a
snow-fence and hold wind-blown dust.
rrrinO fho noxf fen. wears the f0rQzf