Show Conservation Notes by W. W Earl in In one of our recent articles we Ye discussed the definition o of the term soil conservation At t At that time I promised to discuss some of the measures which are used in the control of water erosion To fo us one of the most Import Import- ant measures is t the o vegetative over o By this we mean the use of grasses legumes shrubs and trees to break the force of oC rainfall rainfall rain rain- fall Call with their leaves and stems and hold the topsoil in place with their ground network of roots Gustafson in his book Conservation Conservation Conservation Con of the Soil SolI states In a broad general wa way the most important single factor in preventing erosion is the production production production tion and maintenance of a complete complete complete com com- vegetative cover for the soil The establishment of a permanent permanent permanent perm perm- anent vegetative cover should be practiced in gullies whose control is the tho first step in a well- well planned program When our land starts to gully Suny it Is retiring itself itself It Itself it- it self from Crom cultivation Use of erosion erosion ero ero- sion slon plants can be made in healing these gullies and their thick tangle of oC leaves and stems create thousands of little dams which retard and trap part of or orthe the sedimentation from Crom the run run- off Permanent grasses legumes shrubs and trees are used for lor this purpose Quite Quito often dams brush ana other obstructions are placed In Into Into Into In- In to the gullies to retard the water water wat wat- water er and give vegetation a better better better bet bet- ter chance to take hold Most ost generally land having steep slopes and hills should bo be permanently retired to grasses and trees These lands can bemore bemore be bo more productive in the long run runas runas runas as pasture or a source of timber rather than in cultivation I IAn All An of the natural waterways on the farm should be permanently permanently permanently perma perma- put into gra grass 3 It is definitely impossible to tomake make crake e a complete and permanent retreat to grass unless man Is willing to revert to a primitive animal existence Thus we must make a compromise In hr saving our topsoil by keeping a vegetative vegetative vegetative vege vege- cover on the soil as much muchas as possible between This is ono one of the tho purposes of the term which we we call caU crop rotation Most of us are aro interested Inthis in inthis inthis this subject of crop rotation so in order to keep on speaking terms with d a ri Mr Swain the tho editor editor editor ed ed- I will take this th's subject up in a later article |