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Show The LandtDoctor LafdDoctor LafdDoctor'JSy Land ; Docto \ 'JSy JSy ' " . .By By .JJ7 JJ7 . Vivian VIY1ao 8h Shearer ShearerEditor's Shearer ShearerIBdItor's " , r IBdItor's IBdItors Editor's Editors tor " ' . note z ! : With this Issue vbefin we wehelin webe helin be = hi a swiea erles series of weekly weeldy cohunideUnc eolumns eohrmna eolumnsdta11n eohrmnadeallug dta11n deallug * & ' with wlih various pbaaes pballes phases of soetoslon soU soil soUetoaJon soilerosion etoaJon erosion , . BOU soU soil conservation consenaUoD and eon- eon con- con eonservaUon conservation coxeervaUon - servaUon servation fannln farming & , which we hope hopewID hopewW boxWilt wID wW be of interest to our readerThe readers readersThe readersThe a The author , Vivian Shearer , is S a alarmer afarmer farmer larmer and aDd talks the lancuafe IanJ'1l3C'e IanJ1l3Ce language ' . , of ofl.nn offirm < ( farm l-.nn l.nn l .nn nn firm - . and ranch . . lie He Is also a . aoU soil aoUeonservaUonlst soilconservationist soconservatlonlst eonservaUonlst conservationist , and aDd Is helping thV the theU theU U S Soil SoU Conservation ConservaUon Service Servl.ee Servlee . iIts In InIts inits Its wide-spread wide spread wide-lipread lipread - - work workwith . with farmciand fannen farmers fannenand farmersand and ranchers throofhout thro11Jhout throughout , . the West VVesYour . . Your comments , criticisms crltlclsms anquestions and andQuesUoDS andquestions QuesUoDS questions will w111 wW be welcomes . Speaking as one stranger .stranger . to another an- an another another _ - other I hope that you will like th1s this th1scol thiscolumn thicolumn - col column It will wUl deal with . soil .roll roll ero eroslon eroaion eroslon slon aion-- aion aionits - - - Its history , causes caUSeB and resuits re- re results results - sults It will attempt "ttempt ttempt " to keep abreast ab abreast abroast reast roast of or the activities directed toward to- to toward toward - ward soil soll and moisture conserva censerva conservatlon censervation conservation conservationI tlon tion tlonI tionI I once stood on a ridge with a avery avery ; B very old man DUU matt } , , looking across hihollowing his hishol1 hishollowing hol1 hollowing wlng farm A stunted crop of ofcom ofcorn ocorn com corn that would hardly be wortiharvesting worth worthharvesting worthharvesting harvesting struggled to wrest itexistence Its Itsex1.stance itsexistance ex1.stance ex1stance existance . from the theadbare theadbaJ'e theadbaJe ' solon soU soil soUon soilon - on wedge-shaped wedge shaped - blocks of ground groundthat groundthat grounithat that divided the branches of a aoancerous acancerous icancerous - oancerous cancerous gully system A tenhapless few fewhapless fewhapless hapless farm f animals grazed wearl wearly wearlyon wearlyon : on the weedy pasture pastureThe pastureThe pastureThe The old man shook his head headsl.d1y headsadly hea heasadly < sadly sl.d1y sld1y ' . and told me that In ill hiyouth his hisyouth hisyouth s youth the farm was also youngand young youngand youngacid and acid bountiful but now It was llkihimself llke like llkehimself likehimself himself very old and not much muchgood muchgood mudgood good I refrained from trom voicing vOlcmg ireminder a areminder reminder that his farm was rnercl merely merelywhat merelywhat : ' ' what he made It that with prope proper properuse properuse : r use It should have outlived hinand him himand himand - and his posterity tor for a thousand thousandyears thousandyears thousancyears years and more moreThe moreThe moreThe The reflective person looking up upon up- up upon upon - _ on the naked stones and yawninfgullies yawning yawningguUles yawninggullies - guUles gullies left by peoples peopies of the past pastfrom pastfrom pastfrom , from whose broad lands the Ute solvalues soil soilv soilvalues values v .1ues 1ues . have vanished vanl.shed vanlshed . must be con convinced con- con convinced convinced - " vinced that Man has often cruellyexploited cruelly cruellyexploited cruellyexploited exploited our fruitful Mother Earth EarthMan EarthMan EarthMan , Man has often otten left desolate and andimpoverished andimpoverished ancImpoverished impoverished vast areas of lanewhich land landwhich landwhich I which in past generations abun abun- abundantly abundantly abun- abun abundantly - - dantly supplied supplled the needs of hi his histribe histribe ; tribe or nationNor nationNor nation nationNor . Nor is the era of stupenduoussoil stupt'nduous stuptnduous stupenduous stupt'nduousIOn stupenduoussoil ' IOn soil losses ended Before our eyestoday eyes eyestoday eyestoday today once-productive once productive - fields anbecoming are arebeeom1ng arebecoming > beeom1ng becoming less productive each year yearInterior yearInferior yearInferior | Interior Inferior species of forage plantsare plants plantsare plantsare are encroaching upon our pasturesand pa . pastures pasturesand tures turesand and range lands Sheet erosion Ittaking Is Istaking istaking taking Its vicious toll of topsolllayer topsoU topsoil topsoUlayer topsoillayer layer by layer year after year yearOully yearGully yearOully Oully Gully systems are being bom born ancare and andare andare are growing and creeping andgnawing and andgnawing andgnawing gnawing at the vitals of beautifulfields beautiful beautifulIlelds beautifulfields Ilelds fields and pasturesDr pasturesDr pastures Dr W C Lowdennllk Lowdermilk of the US U US 8 S Soil Boll Conservation Service suggests sug suggests suggests gests that if It Moses had foreseenthe foreseen foreseenthe foreseenthe the wastage of land due to Man s spractll'eB spractices spractices practll'eB practlleB practices ' of suicidal agr1 agriculture agriculturethe agriculturethe ul ture turethe the resulting man maae deserts andruined and andruined andruined ruined civilizations clv1I1zatlons the social dec decadence d dec- dec decadence - adence of o1 billions bUUons of peoplesthrough peoples peoplesthrough peoplesthrough through thousands of years and andthe andthe andthe the oncoming desolation of theirlands their theiriands theirlands iands lands he doubtless doubUess would wema WOW 1 < havebeen havt have havtbeen havebeen been Inspired to deliver an Elev Elev- Eleventh Eleventh Eleventh - enth Commandment to complete completethe completethe completethe the trinity of man a B responsibilitiesto responsibilities to his creator to his fellow men andto and andto andto to Mother Earth Such a commandmenfc command commandment commandment ment might have read somewhat somewhatas as follows followsXl XI Xl Thou ishalt shalt , Inherit the holyearth holy holyearth holyearth earth as a faithful steward conserving con conserving conserving serving Its resources and productlvlty produc productivlty productfvity tivlty tfvity from generation to genera generatlon generation generatlon tlon tion Thou shalt safeguard thyfields thy thyfields thyfields fields from soil soU erosion thy livingwaters living livingwaters livingwaters waters from drying up thy forestfrom forest forestfrom forestfrom from desolation and protect thy thyhills thyhills thyhills hills from overgrazing by thy thyherds thyherds thyherds herds so that thy descendants mayhave may mayhave mayhave have abundance forever If It anyshall any anyshall anyshall shall fall fail In this stewardship ofthe of ofthe ofthe the land thy fruitful fields shall shallbecome shallbecome shallbecome become sterile stony ground andwasting and andwasting andwasting wasting gullies and thy descendants descen descendants descendants dants shall decrease and live inpoverty in inpoverty inpoverty poverty or be destroyed from off offthe offthe oftthe the face of the earth _ |