The Wilmington morning star., 1940-08-26
s0II, SAVING WORK
STANDS HARD TEST
MANY Acres Of Farm Land
Saved During Heavy Rain
storms In The State

,st II. Millions OF tons OF fertile.
ssoil literally washed down the
'.poek" in the path of raging wa
ers.
put our of the week of wide
.nread destruction came stories Of
,p;l ~ saved and crop destruction
suorted v on scores of farms within
al Conservation Districts organ
zod bv county agents of the State
-ollege Extension service and su-
,ervised by the U. S. Soil Conser-
,ation service. They told how ter
.sres strip crops and m d W
trims prevented washing; erosion
r.s checked on hillsides by cover
,rons: adequate drainage as the
psult OF contour furrows:
F B. Garrett of State college,
,oordinator of the Soil Conserva-
ion service. conducted survey to
dptprnine the storm damage on
farms in the Soil Conservation Dis
ricts. Almost without exception,
The cooperating farmers reported.
IN substance: The value of soil
conservation work on my farm is
unreasonable. y
The story of how good soil con-
;ervation practices stood the test
# the storms is best told in the
statements of the individual far
ners. In Wilkes County, where 8
inches of rain fell during 48-hour
eriod, G. NJ Alexander, one of
he cooperating farmers in the soil
conservation work said: Very lit
lie damage was done to nine-acre
Upland field that was strip-cropped
with corn and lespedeza. Without
The strips of lespedeza, the Sol!
loss would have been very heavy"
Crop Not Damaged
Other reports selected at ran
dom from the large n u m b
reaching Mr.. CARROTS office, fol-
ow: Ralph Bolick, tenant on the
J. G. Carpenter farm in Catawpa
County: Since my farm is proper
terraced, my crop was not dam
aged by the recent heavy rains. l
am satisfied that if it had not
oeen done. my crop would have
oeen ruined" Others in Catawba
County stated: J. ]. Ratchford of
Mountain Creek section, no ero-
sion occurred and water running
put Of the lower end of the meadow
at least one loot deep. was as
clear as spring water" E. C. Can
sler, Il haven't been hurt by the
.ain because land just can't wash
away with terraces and strip-crop-
ping" W. R. Wilfong, My ter
races have not been broken and
think strip-cropping has saved
hem from running over as others
lave DONE
J. L. Coleman of A a m &c e
County: My terraces, meadows
and outlet bitches have been
'eal soil and life-saver to me. If
couldn't replace my terracing
system. money couldn't buy it.
During the recent unusually heavy
rains. can't see that I've lost any
soil, while before the SCS helped
ne, would lie awake at night
thinking about the washing in my
lelds whenever it rained."
j. H. Wilkins of Alamance: If
it had not been for the soil conser-
Vatlon system on my farm, there S
10 telling how much of it would
oe in Stony Creek after these rains
George R. Garrison of Alamance
says; "A four-year rotation, to-
sether with my terraces, h AVE
saved my farm from washing down
the creek. The hard rains have
not hurt my fields that I can tell"
Lespedeza Strips Support Terraces
K. j. Rose of Franklin County:
Il was delightfully."- surprised to
llnd that in not a single instance
old terrace break in my cotton
or corn fields. But then my ter
races are all supported by strips of
leSpedeza Is to 20 fet wide.''
j. H. Brodie of Vance County:
10 both myself and tenants, re-
cent rains have demonstrated the
great value of proper terracing,
winch cannot be done without the
meadow strips or waterways for
lerfaces to empty the overflow. |
mhk soil conservation work in,
NORM Carolina is undoubtedly one
1 the finest and most vital under.
'dhlngs the Government has spon-
sored."
John H. Arlidge of Polk County:
Durlng the entire period I did
uoI lose a bushel of dirt
y M. York Of Rutherford Coun-
"; 4 did not have a single ter
race to break of the ones staked
W you (sCS) boys and built by the
-ouhty terracing unit"
eharles Beck of Davie County:
wouldn't take ST 1000 for the soil
conservation system on my farm
aiVef these recent rains. Before the
sia'l s;s was worked out for me, l
,ru .n not nave rotation, no terraces
,u en- my land was washing away
oCo Coordinator Garrett said he
ICY useelved dozens of other statement
ua nniIh were similar in praise for
Tpou m SOIL conservation practices.
ah.: amose from whom reports were
MNp'alhed Md include: ]. O. Hudson of
ssaorganton, sa Route 2; NJ. T. Harbi-
noa no., ol Glen Alpine; Fred Jobe of
nss ,,eal forest City; A. T. Hart, farm
s,e.lasef s,as Tor T. w. Chandler in
nai1ance sn' 1ia County; C. B. Kever
@uo t, W: W. Hood of Catawba Coun.