DRY LANDS AND FORESTS 119 



cheap land that this acreage will never be ma- 

 terially increased. In fact, many believe that 

 the western fringe of the dry-farming region 

 is destined to revert to grazing. The systems 

 of cultivation under which the region is now 

 being exploited do not make for the conserva- 

 tion of soil fertility. Conservation of moisture 

 is the main problem. As we shall see in sub- 

 sequent chapters, single-cropping and ex- 

 tensive agriculture go hand in hand, and ex- 

 perience has shown that our prairies toward 

 the east, stuffed with decaying mold of hun- 

 dreds and hundreds of years of prairie grasses, 

 were broken down in a generation of such ex- 

 ploitation. The immediate problem of raising 

 crops is so pressing that we have not yet given 

 heed to the ultimate fate of these lands under 

 the systems which are found most profitable 

 for the day. 



At one time, geologists tell us, the Great 

 Plains were well watered and wooded. Only 

 recently remains of prehistoric cities have been 

 uncovered in western Kansas. A great need 

 of the present day is windbreaks of trees to 

 prevent the blowing of soils, a factor which is 

 extremely serious in many sections, and plant 

 scouts are seeking dry-land trees. An ex- 



