UNCLE SAM'S BIGGEST BANK ACCOUNT 23 



the term "Conservation 5 ' has become a household word 

 in the short space of eight years. It is doubtful if any 

 economic movement ever had a more rapid rise. 



In order that a correct idea of the present situation 

 may be obtained a brief review of all the natural re- 

 sources will be of interest and at the same time the 

 steps that are being taken to insure their proper use 

 may be mentioned. 



Land. The most valuable of all natural resources to 

 a nation is land for from it with the assistance of 

 sufficient water and a favorable climate comes the food of 

 the people. Unless a nation owns plenty of fertile land 

 it is truly poor no matter how much gold or precious 

 minerals it may possess. 



Of the total area of the United States 1,900,000,000 

 acres (about 3,000,000 square miles) approximately 

 forty-five per cent or 850,000,000 acres is in farms. Of 

 the one-fourth held as forest mention is made elsewhere 

 but in addition about one-eighth is cut-over timber land 

 or covered with an open scrubby growth. One-fifth of 

 the land surface is arid or at least requires partial 

 irrigation while one twenty-fifth is swamp land which 

 will require drainage before it can become productive. 



Upon the 6,000,000 farms it is estimated that fully 

 three-fourths of the owners are engaged in a kind of 

 agriculture which may be well named "soil robbery/' 

 That is, by selling each year the fertility of the farm in 

 the form of crops and by replacing little if any of the 

 mineral salts removed, the power of farm land to pro- 

 duce rich crops is being greatly diminished. The farm 

 yields are decreasing on half our farms and we grow 

 but fourteen bushels of wheat per acre against twenty- 

 eight in Germany, and thirty-two bushels per acre in 

 England. Unless the farmers of this country commence, 



