EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XIX. Jixe, lOOH. No. 10. 



At the great conference on the conservation of natural resources 

 hekl at the White House May 13-15, many matters of the highest 

 interest to the friends of agricuUural progress in this country were 

 discussed. Forestry, irrigation, and drainage were naturally very 

 prominent, and the attention of the conference and of the public 

 who watched its proceedings was largely engrossed by these subjects. 

 But important as these are among the material interests of this 

 country, they can not compare with the general subject of soil con- 

 servation, which lies at the center of these and other interests. 



The problems of forestry and irrigation are localized and their 

 solution depends very largely on the action of the State and Na- 

 tional governments and of limited groups of men. The problems 

 of the soil are coextensive with the area of our lands, and their 

 solution depends in very large measure on the independent action of 

 millions of men. Drainage is only one factor in soil conservation. 

 The farms of the United States are its most important and funda- 

 mental material asset, and its 10,000,000 farmers and their suc- 

 cessors are the men wdio alone can determine whether the fertility 

 of the soil of this country is to be maintained or exhausted. 



The tremendous issues involved in the problems of soil conservation 

 were touched upon in the opening address of the President. " The 

 natural resources I have enumerated can be divided into two sharply 

 distinguished classes accordingly as they are or are not capable of 

 renewal. Mines if used must necessarily be exhausted. The minerals 

 do not and can not renew themselves. Therefore in dealing with 

 the coal, the oil, the gas, the iron, the metals generally, all that we 

 can do is to try to see that they are wisely used. The exhaustion 

 is certain to come in time. 



" The second class of resources consists of those which can not only 

 be used in such manner as to leave them undiminished for our chil- 

 dren, but can actually be improved by wise use. The soil, the forests, 

 the waterways come in this category. In dealing with mineral re- 

 sources, man is able to improve on nature only by putting the re- 



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