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Show SAVING THE HILLSIDE SOILS Some Practical Suggestions for Management Man-agement of Fields That Have Been Badly Washed Away. You have noticed that the soil on the sidehill field has washed badly ' the last few years. Ever wonder what was the reason for this increased water action? Do you wish to stop it? Humus, the decaying vegetable matter mat-ter in the soil, tends to prevent this erosion. Humus absorbs moisture and retains it. When the soil contains an abundance of humus the soil particles are kept apart and they can absorb more water. The soil is open and the water tends to soak into the ground instead of run off. Therefore, one of the best ways of preventing erosion is to keep the soil full of humus. Have the grasses or legumes occupy a prominent prom-inent place in the rotation for the hillside hill-side fields. x Perhaps some bad gullies have formed in your field and you desire to fill them up. If so, make the force of the gullies the force that washed them out fill them up. Place brush in the ditches with the tops up-stream and it wall catch and hold the material washed down. Even a better method, however, is the use of the woven-wire dam. Place a stake on each side of the gully, three feet from the bank, and fasten a piece of woven wire to them. Place old hay above this wire aud it will catch almost all of the ma-' ma-' terial washed by the water. The gully will then fill up. When it reaches the top of the woven wire put on another strip and repeat the process. Soil erosion can never be prevented entirely, but it can be greatly reduced by a regard for tn? principle of proper pro-per soil management. |