Ill 



MAN AND NATURE, INC. 



THE PHYSICAL BASIS OF A PERMANENT COUNTRY 



/ swear the earth shall surely be complete 

 to him or her who shall be complete; 



The earth remains jagged and broken only 

 to him or her who remains jagged or broken. 



WALT WHITMAN. 



injury already done to Man's interests by practices 

 JL which disturb natural relations between land and water 

 is serious. These practices must be revised promptly. In 

 addition, reparation should be made as speedily as possible. 

 This means that Man must work with Nature's forces; that 

 he must restore the fundamental balances to which attention 

 has been called. 



It is obviously impossible for the United States to restore 

 generally the conditions which existed at the time Columbus 

 discovered America. We have a population of 125 million 

 to feed and clothe; this will be increased 15 to 17 million in 

 the next quarter century. To do this a vast area must be 

 tilled. This means, however, a highly selective use of land. 

 Intensive cultivation of carefully selected areas must produce 

 the necessary food and clothing; other areas can then profit- 

 ably be released for restoration of natural stabilizing and con- 

 serving conditions, and incidentally for the production of 

 other items essential to Man's comfort. It means that Man 

 and Nature must set up a cooperative relationship. 



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