Show The Th-e TheBy Land Doctor B Hy By Vivian Shearer Editors Editor's Note With this is issue issue issue is- is sue we begin a series of ot weekly articles dealing with various phases of soil soU erosion soil conservation conservation conservation con con- and conservation farming farmIng farming farm farm- ing which we hope will be of in inI interest interest in- in I terest to our re readers d rs The au auther ther Vivian Shearer is a farmer and talks the language of farm of-farm far and ranch He is also a soil conservationist conservationist conservationist con con- and is helping the U. U S S. S Soil Conservation Service in its wide spread work with mth farmers and ranchers throughout through through- out the West Speaking as one stranger to another I hope that you will like this column It will deal with soil erosion its erosion its history causes and results I will attempt to keep abreast of ot the activities directed toward soil and moisture moisture moisture mois mois- ture conservation I once stood on a ridge with witha a very old man looking across his rolling farm A stunted crop of ot corn that would harley barley be worth harvesting to te wrest its existence from the threadbare soil soU on wedge-shaped wedge blocks of ground that divided the branches of a gUll gully system Afew hapless farm tarm animals fended wearily on the weedy pasture The old man shook his head sadly and told me that in his youth the farm was also young and bountiful but now it was like himself very old and not much goody good I refrained from voicing a reminder that his farm tarm was merely what he had made it that with proper use it should have outlived him and his pos- pos Continued on last page The Land an Doctor Continued from page o one terlly for a thousand years and more The reflective person looking upon the naked nuked stones and yawnIng yawning yawn- yawn Ing lug gullies left by peoples of the past from Crom whoso whose broad lands soil values have ha vanished must bo be convinced that Man lan has often orten cruelly exploited our fruitful Mother Earth Man has often oCten left desolate and impoverished vast areas arcas of land which in past pasi generations abundantly supplied the n needs eds of ot his tribe or nation Nor is 15 the tho era of ot stupendous soil losses ended Before our eyes etes t to today o d day a y productive once-productive fields are arc becoming less productive productive productive tive each year Inferior species of forage plants are aro encroaching encroaching- upon our pastures an and range lands Sheet erosion Is taking its vicious toll of topsoil layer by layer laer year after year Gully systems are being born and are growing and creeping and gnawing gnawing gnawing gnaw gnaw- ing at the vitals of beautiful fields and pastures Dr W. W C. C Lowdermilk of ot tho the thoI I U. U S. S Soil Conservation service suggests sugg-ests that J If Moses wad nad foreseen foreseen fore for seen the wastage of ot land due to toMan's toMan's Mans Man's practices of suicidal agriculture agriculture agri agri- culture the resulting man-made man deserts and ruined civilizations the social decadence of billions of people through h thousands of years and tho economic desolation desolation desola desola- tion lion of ot their lands he doubtless would have been inspired to deliver deliver deliver de de- de- de liver an Eleventh Commandment Commandment Commandment Command Command- ment to complete the trinity ot of otman's otman's mans man's to his Creator to his fellow men ment and to Mother Iother Earth Such a commandment commandment commandment com com- might mig have read somewhat as follows XI Thou Inherit the holy earth as a faithful steward steward steward stew stew- ard conserving its resources and productivity from generation generation generation genera genera- tion to generation Thou shall safeguard thy fields from soil erosion thy living waters from drying up thy forests from desolation desolation desolation des des- and protect thy hills from overgrazing by thy herds herda so so that thy descendants may have abundance forever If any shall ahall fail in this stewardship of the theland theland theland land thy faithful fields shall become sterile stony ground and wasting gullies and thy descendants descendants descend descend- md- md ants shall decrease and live in poverty or be destroyed from off ff the IC face of the earth I |