Evening star., 1943-11-06
Tells Value of Leaves
That Might Be Burned.
10 Re FfLtnr ~ The Slar

To the Editor of The Star.
Again. washington and its neighboring
towns and villages, As we'll as the grounds
about many farmsteads. are Uttered with
the seasons harvest of leaves Already
thousands are out with rakes preparing
for the destruction of this valuable re-
source Very soon. countless blazes will
consume tons Of leafy material, although
this is rich substance for gardens and
lelds-if saved and utilized The fires
will convert the leaves into smoke. in
visible vapor and carbon dioxide. leaving
only fakes of ash to disappear with the
next wind
Boys and girls ano goodly number of
groWnups too, find enjoyment in this
paStime Of waste. 1t must be admitted
that no little pleasure comes from walk
ing through the gayly colored, rustling
leaves. Moreover, fallen leaves have
fragrance, following rains and biting
frost, and the blazes set by industrious
yard cleaners are cheerful sight in the
twilight and darkness of autumn eve
ningS. But in all proba ability much more
real delight would be derived from saving
the leaves for conversion into compost
and later on into luscious vegetables.
Not many will think to stack leaves
in out f-the-way corners, to make COM
post for enrichment of garden and field
No matter in what shape or form the
leaves are piled, in the course of a year
they will have rotted without further
assistance into a highly desirable form
for revitalizing ailing soil and for pro-
tocting the ground and keeping it cool
and moist in summer.
Whether worked into the soil or scat
tered over it, this leaf-humus is highly
effective for preventing erosion on
sloping areas and for increasing the
absorption of rainfall.
And any one who will cover his garden
with 2 or 3 inches of the disintegrated
material Will have little trouble with
drought
1t seems strange that we had to wait
until very recent times-until soil con-
servationists came actively on the scene
to find out that the proper way to
use land is to handle it as nearly like
nature handles it. which is under a pro-
tective cover of grass or forest with
ground cover of litter. Now we can't
have forests growing in our fields and
lawns and gardens, but We can scatter
forest litter, or any other kind of veg
etable litter, over any cultivated area
On Well-established lawns there usu-
ally is little need for such material,
because grass is one of natures most
effective tools for building and holding
soil. Where the ground is cultivated,
however, covering of vegetative litter
not only increases the absorption of
rainfall, but provides a most favorable
condition for the activities of various
beneficial organisms, such as earthworms
and micro-orga The organisms
make the soil living thing. They bur-
row through it all summer long, making
1t spongy and converting organic mat
ter and other constituents of the soil
into available forms of plant food.
Because of the severity of drought
about Washington the past summer,
plants growing In the accustomed man.
ner withered and succumbed; but where
there was a ground cover or mulch of
leaf material, cornstalks or other veg
etative litter from last seasons growth,
not much damage was caused.
The mulch cut down evaporation so
effectively that moisture stored in the
soil was able to keep plants green and
growing In few gardens near Wash
ington, surface mulching and contour