10 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 388 



Soil Conservation Research Projects. (Karol J. Kucinski and Walter S. 



Eisenmenger.) 



A Study of the Physical and Chemical Properties of Wind-Blown Soils. Only 

 certain types of soil in Massachusetts are normally affected by wind. The object 

 of this study is to determine whether there is any relation between the physical- 

 chemical properties of these soils and their susceptibility to wind erosion. Soils 

 from wind-eroded and non-wind-eroded areas have been examined for their 

 physical and chemical properties, such as mineral and organic colloidal fractions, 

 plasticity, hygroscopicity, mechanical analysis, heat of wetting, heat of con- 

 ductivity, capacity of absorption, and such other soil properties as are deemed 

 cf value. The effect of chemical and physical charges in soil, brought about 

 by the addition of fertilizer, lime, or organic matter, has been studied by means 

 of a small wind tunnel. Preliminary tests were sufficiently satisfactory to warrant 

 the construction of a larger wind tunnel with certain modifications which should 

 make it more suitable for the purpose. 



Experimentation with Topsail Removal. (In collaboration with Arthur B. 

 Beaumont.) In order to measure the effects of loss of topsoil on yield, the topsoil 

 (to plow depth) was totally removed from one plot with a bulldozer, while an 

 adjacent plot was left undisturbed as a check. Spring wheat and white sweet 

 clover were grown on fertilized and unfertilized portions of these two areas. 



The increases in yield due to fertilization were significant on both areas. How- 

 ever, the decreases in yield due to topsoil removal are alarming. With spring 

 wheat, the decrease in yield where the topsoil had been removed was 63 percent 

 on the fertilized plot and 91 percent on the unfertilized. With white sweet clover, 

 the results were even mere extreme: where topsoil had been removed, there was 

 81 percent decrease in yield on the fertilized plot and total cr p failure (100 

 percent decrease) on the unfertilized plot. These results show the value of the 

 topsoil and the loss to the farmer if his topsril were totally removed at one time. 

 Under normal conditions only a small part of the topsoil is removed each year 

 by erosion, and the farmer is not so conscious of his loss.. 



Nature of Soil Erosion in Massachusetts. (Arthur B. Beaumont and Karcl 

 J. Kucinski.) Accelerated water erosion of Massachusetts soils is widespread 

 but of slight to moderate intensity. However, cultivation of steep slopes through 

 a long period has caused the removal of the entire original topsoil in places and 

 its accumulation at the foot of slopes within comparatively short distances from 

 the point of origin. The character of the soils is important as affecting the nature 

 of the erosion. Being of medium texture and low in colloidal matter, they have 

 low suspensibility in water. A preliminary examination of important soil types 

 gave dispersion ratios ranging from 9.3 to 15.3 with most of them below 11.0. 

 Because of the low suspensibility of the soils, they are deposited as soon as the 

 velocity of the water carrying them is slightly lessened. Streams in this section 

 rarely run muddy, and then only at times of high flood. 



The pictures on page 53 illustrate (1) the difference in the suspensibility in 

 water of Merrimac fine sandy loam, an important soil of the Connecticut Valley, 

 and Memphis silt loam, an important soil of the Mississippi Valley; and (2) the 

 depth of topsoil accumulated by sheet erosion of a cultivated Massachusetts 

 slope. 



Experimentation with Historical "Soil-Test Plots." (Walter S. Eisenmenger 

 and Karol J. Kucinski.) Fifty-one years ago a series of plots was inaugurated 

 to study the effects on the soil and crops of a long-time fixed-fertilizer program. 

 The purpose was to find out the fertilizer needs of the soil tested. Results of 

 these tests published about twenty years ago showed "that fertilizer needs are 



