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Show Summer Rains Can Be Serious Soil Robbers 88 Per Cent of Loss Occurs During Season Summer rains can be "soil robbers" rob-bers" that cause serious erosion losses unless farm land is protected protect-ed by good conservation safeguards, safe-guards, Ohio State University soils research men point out. A 10-year study of erosion damage dam-age at the Zanesville, Ohio experiment experi-ment station, showed that more than 88 per cent of the soil loss due to rainfall occurred in the six summer months. Farm soil is most vulnerable in summer be- 0BG&NIC MATTER akjd pl&nt food jf WOULD HAVE I STOPPED MEj A cause clean-cultivated row crops during those months provide only a small amount of protection. High intensity summer rains cause soil losses in two ways, the Ohio research men say. Large-sized Large-sized drops strike the earth with such force they break the surface soil into small particles that quickly quick-ly fill all surface pores. This seals the soil surface, into a hard crust that water cannot penetrate. Excessive Ex-cessive runoff and erosion losses are the result Also, high Intensity rain beats down so fast that even unsealed earth cannot take it as rapidly as it comes. Thick stands of deep-rooted legumes le-gumes and grasses will provide a soil-protecting cover that will enable en-able the land to take high intensity rains in stride. To produce dense, leafy stands, the legumes must be well fed. That means liming, where neodjd. I |
