^74 



CONSERVATION 



ploughed. Then the sub-surface packer, 

 so called, is run over it. This packer 

 is a machine carrying a series of small 

 wheels suspended close together on a 

 spindle. It packs the earth tightly to- 

 gether in rows. 



The farmer now waits for rain. Even 

 in the dry region in question rain falls, 

 and in quantities sufficient for the needs 

 of crops if the water can but be con- 

 served and utilized. The trouble has 

 been that so much of it runs ofif or 

 evaporates. The run-off, however, is 

 largely prevented by the deep plough- 

 ing, which enables the earth to drink 

 up the rainfall. 



The rain comes and saturates the 

 "sponge" of soil. But the fierce winds 

 of that region blowing, at times, at the 

 rate of seventy-five miles per hour, 

 tend rapidly to drink up the precious 

 moisture from the upper layer of soil, 

 and cause the formation of capillary 

 tubes through which, by capillary at- 

 traction, as through so many minute 

 pumps, the moisture from lower layers 

 is drawn to the surface and carried 

 away in vapor. The farmer, however, 

 now takes the next step. He indus- 

 triously scratches the surface of the soil 

 with harrows until he has broken up 

 the capillary tubes and produced a thick 

 blanket of dust, which protects the soil 

 beneath much as a mulch of straw 

 might do. Through this, he drills his 

 wheat into the moist soil below, and all 

 is well. 



But another danger remains. The 

 fierce winds may blow the dust blanket 

 away. Here is where forestry comes 

 in. At the Experiment Station at Fort 

 Hays, Kansas, it has been found that 

 trees, properly selected, planted and 

 cared for, may be made to grow on the 

 treeless plains. The catalpa, osage 

 orange, Russian mulberry and honey 

 locust thrive in the semi-arid belt. With 

 these, wind-breaks may be formed to 

 protect the fields from the winds. In- 

 cidentally, they will, in addition, furnish 

 fence posts and fuel, and aid in holding 

 the snow moisture of winter. Experi- 

 ments made at the station have proved 

 dry farming to be practicable, and 



another reason has been found for the 

 practice of forestry in western Kansas 

 and Nebraska. 



^ ^ ^ 



Forestry and Unemployment 



THE statement of the Royal Commis- 

 sion on Afiforestation and Coast 

 Erosion of Great Britain that the refor- 

 estation work proposed by them would 

 afiford employment for a hundred thou- 

 sand men, calls attention to a condition 

 now increasingly acute in Great Britain, 

 not to mention other countries — that, 

 namely, of unemployment. The Literary 

 Digest for February 6th tells us that 

 "The British Government is at present 

 confronted with a difficulty which every 

 month grows more aggravated," and 

 quotes from The Board of Trade 

 Labor Gazette : "The general decline 

 in employment, which began during the 

 second half of the year 1907, continued 

 in 1908, and although there was some 

 slight improvement during November 

 and December, employment at the end 

 of 1908 was, it is stated, worse than at 

 the end of any year since 1892. The 

 fluctuations in the percentages of un- 

 employed in the period of 1898- 1908 

 are shown below : 



1898 2.8 



1899 2.0 



1900 2.5 



1901 3-3 



1902 4.0 



1903 4-7 



1904 6.0 



1905 5-0 



1906 3.6 



1907 2>-7 



1908 7-8 



"The mean of the monthly percent- 

 age for the metal-engineering, and ship- 

 building group of trades was 12.6 in 

 1908." 



The Digest publishes a striking chart 

 of unemployment in Great Britain for 

 1907 and 1908. This chart shows that 

 conditions in each month of 1908 were 

 far worse than in the corresponding 

 month of 1907. Such facts enable us 



