116 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



the rancher and farmer are apt to think of it. Another way to 

 look at soil erosion is as a problem of wind and water. And when 

 you narrow it down to a problem of water, you can say that it is 

 a problem of controlling run-off . It is therefore logical that the 

 Department of Agriculture assigned to the Soil Conservation 

 Service the main part of its work under the Flood Control Acts. 



HEADWATERS CONTROL 



As we have seen, the three things that control run'off are 

 slope, type of ground cover, and type of soil. The Soil Conser 

 vation Service attacked the problem from all three angles. In 

 areas of steep slope where gullies had cut through the land, 

 they built check dams to hold back the water. They planted the 

 sides of the gullies with strong rooted plants so that the gully 

 would have a protective cover. These dams and bushes were 

 like a scab over a sore. As the earth began to be washed into 

 the gullies and held there, the sore began to heal. The Soil 

 Conservation Service concentrated on doing whatever could 

 be done to keep the topsoil in place, to increase water absorp- 

 tion, and to check the speed of run-off. It built terraces to check 

 run-off and put the water into the soil to nourish crops. It used 

 strip-cropping to keep a part of the soil continuously covered 

 with plants. It improved pastures and forest lands and planted 

 trees to hold water and soil. The basis of its whole program 

 was to control the speed of flowing water from the time the 

 raindrop struck the earth until it reached a main stream 

 channel. 



Recently the government flood control program has been 

 expanded to include the Connecticut, the Columbia, the Sus- 

 quehanna, and the several other river systems that have become 

 flood threats. In the New England states this program hit a 

 snag because the people of these states believed that the taking 

 over of land for flood control by the federal government with 

 out the consent of the states was a violation of state rights. 



