Evening star., 1946-10-20

Americans have been prodigal
users of natural resources. They
have ruined more good productive
land in a shorter time than any
other people, civilized or barbaric, In
the worlds history.
Beginning with the early settlers.
Americans hacked down forests and
ruined millions of acres OF once fer
tile land through ignorance, indif-
ference and careless farming. Our
original resources were SO vast that
MANY people believed they would
last forever.
1t still is difficult for some Amer
leans to comprehend fully that we
are running short of productive land
in various parts of the country.
This is not the cry of an alarmist:
speak from cold, hard facts. II
We are to have adequate diets for
ourselves and the generations that
will follow us, we must protect the
good land that is left. In so far as
we can, we must also repair the
damage to land already made less
productive by erosion and poor
farming.
History Of Waste.
Look back over our history for a
moment. What you find does not
make a pretty picture. During the
45-year period from about 1890 to
1885, this Nation was losing for fur
ther practical cultivation approx
mately 100000 acres of productive
land every year. Enough soil was
washed from our farms and ranches
each year to fill a freight train that
would encircle the earth 18 times at
the equator. This soil was washed
down over lower slopes and on
downstream to clog rivers and har-
bors or to fill precious space in our
reservoirs.
We have already ruined or dam
aged 282,000,000 acres of crop and
grazing land. Another 775,000, 900
acres have been eroded to some de-
gree. We are left with only about
460,000000 acres of high grade, pro-
ductive crop land and approximately
lOO,0OO00 acres of this needs clear
ing drainage, irrigation or other
improvement.
It's scarcely believable, but our
erosion bill has been costing us
nearly $4,000, 100000 a year. That's
an annual loss of $28 for every man,
woman and child in this Nation.
This loss is measured by the
amount of plant food constituents in
eroded soil, by flood damage. sitting
of bitches, streams, harbors and
reservoirs, flood damage to highways
and railroads, harm to wildlife, and
other damages. 1t does not take
into account some other things that
cannot be measured in dollars and
cents. How much, for example, is
soil erosion costing the Nation in
creating rural slums, cutting down
trade, lowering tax revenues and
forcing poorer diets on thousands of
people?
Subs0il Less Productive.
TopsoI cannot be rebuilt in any
practicable period of time. Once it
is gone, the land-raw subsoil-is
much less productive, often useless
for cultivation This erosion-ex-
posed subsoil will not produce the
food and fiber needed to keep us
well fed and adequately clothed.
AS q matter of fact, much of the
food we eat is not very nourishing
because it was grown on worn out
land. Two heads of lettuce at the
market may look alike. Yet, if one
head came from fertile, protected
land and the other came from de-
pleted land. they may be entirely
different in their content of health
giving minerals and vitamins.
The nutritional value of milk or
beefsteak depends on the quality of
feed the COW or steer eats. High
quality grains and hay crops cannot
be produced on land. that is run
down from excessive cropping or
worn away to condition of poverty
by sheet and gully erosion.
1t is entirely possible for people
to suffer from serious malnutrition
even with full stomachs. Much de-
pends on the quality of the food
they are eating.
When you consider that there are
only approximately 1000, 900
acres of readily arabic land-not all
Of it good land-in the whole world
to support an increasing population
Of over 5,000,oOO,oo0 people, you will