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Show Sonservatbn "G's": Coastruelim., Cover, Contouring, Wafer Control There are four 'C's' in conservation, conser-vation, according to Douglas H. Bertoch, chairman of the Duchesne Du-chesne county PMA committee. The first "C" is for cover. Mr. Bertoch points out that a protective cover is about the best defense known against erosion. er-osion. In the first place, the leaves and stems of thick-growing plants break the fall of the rain. This prevents "splash erosion." Then the roots hold the soil and keep it from wash ing or blowing away. And when the roots die they help to build up the humus in the soil. This helps to make the soil more porous, with a greater capacity to absorb water. The stems and leaves of plants slow down the run-off of excess water, thus reducing re-ducing the amount of soil carried car-ried away with the water. The second "C" is for construction. con-struction. This includes the construction con-struction of terraces, dams, and spreader dikes. This second "C" stands for the conservation practices prac-tices which include changing the surface of the land to check run-off and control erosion. Instead In-stead of leaving the land unprotected, un-protected, a terrace, or- dike, or dam crosses the path of normal run-off, thus checking the flow and diverting the water to an outlet where it will not dig a gully through the land. The third "C" is for contouring. contour-ing. Similar to some of the construction practices, contour farming puts barriers in the way of run-off. Instead of furrows fur-rows running up and down the slope of the land, they follow the contour of the land on the level. The fourth "C" is for control of water. If the productivity of the land depends on irrigation, irriga-tion, conservation practices are carried out to prevent loss of water. If there is too much w::-ter, w::-ter, conservation of the land calls for getting the excess water wa-ter off the- land. |
