January 1904.] Renewing Flooded Lands. 137 



furrow ; but with the ordinary plow it is not practicable to attempt to 

 plow more than one furrow deep, as the earth cannot be elevated, and 

 will simply fall back to the bottom of the furrow, which will be left 

 mellower but little deeper than it was by one plowing. 



It may be profitable, on valuable land and on small fields, to use the 

 spade with the plow, and by digging trenches, bury the sand and bring 

 the good soil to the surface. In some instances where the sand lies 

 in deep drifts it may be practicable to haul it off the field with scra- 

 pers or pile it up in large mounds. 



When the sand is buried or mixed with the soil, the question arises 

 as to the effect which it may have on the texture' and fertility of the 

 soil and in the production of crops. The effect which the sand has 

 on the soil texture will depend upon the character of the soil and the 

 coarseness of the sand. If the original soil was heavy and compact, a 

 light dressing of sand may improve the texture and increase the 

 available fertility, but if the soil was already sandy, the addition of 

 more sand will tend to reduce the fertility and produce a coarser and 

 more open texture, unfavorable to the holding of soil moisture and to 

 the root growth of plants. 



To improve the physical condition of the soil and prepare a proper 

 seed-bed, such fields should be thoroughly firmed and packed by the 

 use of a subsurface packer or similar tool ; but even with thorough 

 preparation lands in which the sand has been buried or mixed with 

 the soil by deep tillage are not in a condition to seed at once to grass 9 

 but had better be planted with corn or other cultivated crops for a 

 few seasons, orthe system of green manuring described under "Washed 

 Lands" may be profitably employed, especially if the soil is light, and 

 lacking in humus. When land has been plowed very deep and the 

 subsoil has been brought to the surface, the land is not likely to pro- 

 duce well the first season, because the raw soil must weather and de- 

 cay and the bacterial growth must be reestablished before a sufficient 

 supply of plant-food can be made available to meet the requirements 

 of the crop. 



In case the covering of sand is too deep and too extensive to be 

 subject to any of the methods of treatment suggested, it maybe prac- 

 ticable to hold the sand and attempt to hasten the building of it into 

 soil by means of soil-binding grasses and legumes, discussed in an- 

 other part of this bulletin, or doubtless in some cases it may be more 

 profitable to leave nature undisturbed in her sturdy efforts to renew 

 the soil and replant the sanded wastes. 



SEED TO GRASS LANDS WHICH ARE APT TO WASH. Perhaps the 

 greatest permanent damage to farms resulting from the flood was caused 

 by the washing away of the soil. Thousands of tons of fertile valley 



