Show banger signal in fading of soils natures warning that land may shortly become unproductive prepared by the united suites states department of aier agriculture 1 cult re wal service when the color of a soil beings to change from dark to light the farmer should took look out A change in the other direction from light to dark usually indicates improvement more organic matter flut but a fading soil in roost most cases filding fading crop returns in central texas the rolling black lands uniformly black have faded in many places to gray yellow and even almost white as it if something had drawn the life blood and erosion has done just that erosion speeded up by cultivation has profoundly altered soil conditions in the texas black blach lands the bureau of chemistry anti and solla soils of the united states department of agriculture has found this land in virgin condition produced from one half to one bale of c othon per der acre without manure or fertilizer of any kind now the region Is a mixed black gray yellow bellow and white area so rapidly has erosion skinned off the successive layers of soil from black almost super productive clay on top down to white comparatively unproductive subsoil suh sub soll this change has occurred in 40 years of cult cultivation ivalon this damage has been caused chiefly t by y sheet erosion scarcely noticeable as it takes place but bul which carries oft off a portion of the he essential topsoil every tinie time there Is a rain twenty three tons of topsoil were re rei i moved from each cacti acre hy by a single rain measurement on an average slope showed TI tills I 1 a single maln affected acres of texas land department soil boll sPecial specialists lits worn that unless vastly more Is done jn in the future to protect the erosive slopes of texas than has ever been done in the past the rolling areas or of this g great r eat cotton producing belt tire ire doomed to destruction |