-3- 



The final inspection ;vill be made on a carefully to.kon sample 

 of not less than 5 bushels from a particular block of trees of not less 

 than one acre, the sample to be picKed \inder the direction of the County 

 Agricultural Ardent or his representative. 



Any apple groirer wishing to talce part in this contest should 

 keep a simple record of his spray or dust schedule. Application for 

 inspection must be made not later than August 1, 1947 to the County Agri- 

 cultural Agent, of the County in vrhich the orchard is located. It vdll 

 be vorj'' gratifying if 10 blocks of trees in Massachusetts can measure 

 up the high standards outlined above. 



SPLASHIHG RAIIvrPROFS AW SOIL BJ^OSION 



Soil erosion by vvater is gcnerallj'' applied to the process of 

 soil beijog carried av;r>y or transported b;/ excess v/ater runnin.^ overland. 

 According to Dr. iV, D. Ellison of the Soil Conservation Service, this 

 statement is only partly correct. He has done considerable research 

 work v.'ith the effects of raindrops on soil erosion and has come to some 

 very definite conclusions regarding; the pliysical mechanism -ivhich takes 

 place whcnvrater erodes soil. Particles of soil before they can be moved 

 or transported by flowini;; I'Vater have to be detaclied from the soil mass, 

 "The resistance to detachment of particles from the soil mass will depend 

 mainly on the soil's cohesive properties", A soil high in clay content 

 has strong cohesive properties and may not be easily disturbed by surface 

 flowing vifater because the uoil particles resist separation. On the 

 other hand, once the fine clay particles are detached they remain in sus- 

 pension and are then very easily transported. 



Dr. Ellison's work shov/s that the pelting raindrops speed 

 up this detacliment process and thus accelerate the rate of soil erosion. 

 During a hard rainfall, soil particles may be splashed as hi£;h as two 

 feet into the air by the force of the falling drops. The splashed 

 particles never fall back to the same spot. On sloping land their ten- 

 dency is to splash more dormhill than uphill. The amount of soil lost 

 in t his vray has been found to be tremendous. Spring time is the worst 

 season. Usually the raindrops during the sprinf showers are large and 

 come down v;ith great hitting povror. Fertile, loamy soils, v/hcn bare, 

 are damaged the m.ost and are the greatest sufferers. 



The particle detaching poiver of the splashing raindrop is 

 greatly, if not entirely reduced by the lec^f surfaces of the grovdnr crops. 

 Any vegetation vihich will reduce the force of the impact of raindrops 

 on soil will reduce erosion, Hayficlds, pastures and orchards in sod 

 or mulch, therefore, ;^ivo some of the best control against raindrop 

 erosion. It is, hov/cvjr, during the spring time when the seedbed is 

 being p-opared and while thd crops arc still small that the rains have 

 their most dotrKaental effect on cultivated land, 



Karol J. Kucinski 



Project Supervisor, SCS Research 



