90 



This is' where the most serious mistakes have been made. Year after 

 year the hills were planted in corn, barley or wheat. Tiie ground was 

 thereby kept loose and the rains eroded it and transported this rich soil 

 to the valleys below, thus enriching them. As the forests were cleared 

 away the erosion increased until at the present time the rich black soil 

 is largely removed from the hills and the clay l>enoath it is now being 

 eroded very rapidly and this new .soil is being transported to the bot- 

 tom land and deposited upon the rich soil previously deposited. This 

 not being mixed with liunnis is not very productive. This is seen ou the 

 large bottoms of the Ohio and Great Miami. Twenty-five years ago those 

 alluvial plains produced corn in an e.xtraiirdinary way, but today their 

 productiveness laas greatly decreased. 



It is plain to .see that the farmers on both the hill lands and also the 

 bottoms have suffered great losses on account of this unfortunate method 

 of procedure. Many of the landowners have seen the error of their way 

 and are changing their method of farming. Alfalfa is now being sowed, 

 and this is protecting the land and at the same time is rendering large 

 profit. Others are sowing to blue grass and using the land for pasture — 

 another wise and productive plan. Still others are setting out locust plants 

 and in this way they are protecting the land and providing for the future 

 realization of profit. Much of the waste land in the county could very 

 l)rofitably be used in this way. Others are clearing away the little timber 

 that remains and planting this to tobacco year after year, and in this way 

 the wasting of the land continues. 



A large per cent, of the farmers have never realizetl the real value 

 of their land. They have so much of it that it makes very little difference 

 to them even if some of it is going to waste. Tlie time is coming when 

 this county will be more densely populated, and some one will be com- 

 pelled to reclaim Ihis waste land. Many are so selfish that they do not 

 care; but is this a sensible way in which to act? 



The greater number of the landowners do not cmsidiT how important 

 the soil is. They fail to realize that niankiiul nuist look to it as the source 

 of sustenance. 



If we could look into tlie future more and try to see the coming needs 

 it would be better for the present as well as the future generations. 

 Moores Hill, 

 Indiana. 



