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A. AND ALMON PATTERSON 

 "No soU oH their hill." 





LAYER-CAKE FARhONG 

 Saras tima, soil and troubl*. 



from their efforts to control erosion. In 

 former years, Neighbor Spickler's crops 

 were covered after every rain with silt 

 from Patterson's field. 



"Before we started strip cropping, each 

 heavy rain covered several acres of our 

 own pasture with soil. Sometimes a foot 

 or more of soil would wash over the 

 grass. But after the strips were in, you 

 could pick up all the silt in a double 

 wagon box that came off the hill follow- 

 ing a rain. No soil is washed down now 

 that the crops are growing," F. A. Patter- 

 son explained. 



Although strip cropping baffled them 

 when they first set out to plow and plant 

 in the spring of 1937, it wasn't difficult. 

 They followed Agronomist Christian's in- 

 struction and by the end of the first sea- 

 son they were experts in handling strip 

 crops. One of the main aims, they learned, 

 was to have dead furrows and back fur- 

 rows lie on the contours in such a way 

 as to act as terraces. 



As the plan matures, the Pattersons 

 will sow more of the ridge to buffer strips 

 of sweet clover and alfalfa. Many of the 

 point rows of com will be eliminated 

 with these permanent seedings. That 

 will further simplify all operations and 

 cut costs still more. 



Just across the line in Stephenson coun- 

 ty, Eldon Vehmeier is farming on the 

 level for the first time. This year the 

 rough part of his farm is planted to 

 strips of corn and oats seeded to clover. 

 Next year he will leave a part of the 

 clover for buffer strips. 



"Two-row horse-drawn cultivators 

 work fine on curved rows. The operator 

 steers the wheels around the turns while 

 the horses walk between the rows. The 

 long rows save time because there are 

 fewer ends on which to turn. Then, too, 

 horses that don't follow rows well are 

 content to walk between curving rows 

 without stepping on corn," Eldon said. 



As a young farmer, Vehmeier is con- 

 cerned about his future. If he permits 

 every rain during his life-time to take 

 tons of fertility from his steep fields 

 to the valley below, his future won't be 

 worth a plugged nickel. Isn't that reason 

 enough for following a water control 

 plan.' 



Richard Washington, youthful Pecaton- 

 ica township farmer, didn't lose sleep 

 over the heavy summer gully-washers 

 that grubbed out some of his neighbors' 

 com. The rain that fell on his sidehills 

 did just as he wanted it to do — soak 

 into the soil. His CCC-built terraces 



LUNCHEON BY THE LAKE 

 Food prepared by CCC cooks, served army-style. 



caught and held laost of the water. The 

 surplus flowed gradually to the terrace 

 outlets and walked down the hill without 

 picking up soil. 



Dick's farm is divided into four parts 

 according to soil types and land use. 

 About five acres of badly gullied timber 

 soil has been reforested. An area of 

 steep timber soil and marshy creek bot- 

 tom is sown to permanent pasture. Roll- 

 ing crop land south of the creek has been 

 terraced and will be used to grow pasture 

 rotated with small grain. The less rolling 

 land north of the creek will carry a 

 regular crop rotation planted in strips. 



"My program of erosion control paid 

 for itself a hundred-fold this summer. 

 Both seed and soil remained in place 

 through our heaviest rains. As this farm 

 lays, it could be profitably operated in no 

 other way," Dick Washington declared. 



A. R. Fritz, near Durand, has done 

 what thousands of rough-land farmers 

 can do — make a private lake for fish 

 and waterfowl. Although Fritz's small 

 lake has been stocked with bass and other 

 fish for several years, he permits no fish- 

 ing. The fish are there to keep mosquitos 

 and other insects under control. 



The lake, formed by an earth dam 

 (Continued on page 2i) 



BACKYARD LAKE 

 A. R. Fritz's dam created a useful beauty spot 



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