20 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



the land can be made to yield enough profit to pay for its proper 

 care. Then America can be made more productive than ever. 

 If, on the other hand, the land continues to be destroyed, then 

 the United States will have to depend on other countries for 

 her food and minerals. 



SOIL LOSSES THROUGH CULTIVATION 



W?p W?p W^WP wf^ wf^ 



EACH CART REPRESENTS. TEN TONS PER AC" 



When man tills the land he lays it open to the forces of erosion. The amount 

 of soil lost annually by erosion on cultivated land depends on the crop that is 

 planted. 



Today in America there are about 78,000 square miles of 

 farm land that have been ruined beyond repair. Another 

 234,000 square miles of land are so badly off that it will be a 

 generation before they will be able to support men decently. It 

 has been estimated that every year erosion consumes $400,000,' 

 000 worth of soil and soil fertility. Annually, erosion takes 

 from our soil twentyone times as much plant food as do 

 crops. 16 In the Great Plains alone there are 24,000 crop farms 

 covering a total of 23,437 square miles which should no longer 



16 United States Soil Conservation Service, What Is Erosion? 



