14 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 378 



inches apart produced very thin, weak plants which lodged so badly after 

 wind storms that the crop was almost a complete failure. The two pictures 

 on page 56 show comparative results obtained with the two systems of 

 planting. 



When sunflower plants were used for silage, as high as 19 tons per acre 

 were obtained, comparing favorably with the yield of corn. If the sun- 

 flower plants were ensiled wdiile their leaves and stalks were still green, 

 cattle seemed to relish the silage and thrive on it. 



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

 S. Eisenmenger.) 



A Survey of Erosion Problems Arising from Changes in Land Use. During 

 the past year a detailed study has been made to find out whether the in- 

 creasing potato acreage in Massachusetts has encouraged soil erosion prob- 

 lems. Many acres of old sod and pasture land have been plowed under 

 within the past two or three years. Most of this new potato land is located 

 on the sloping hillsides in the western part of Massachusetts. It is quite 

 evident that this change in land use is resulting in the rapid decomposition 

 of soil organic matter which has been accumulating for the past genera- 

 tion. The soil is exceptionally fertile at present and lends itself to large- 

 scale field operations. If the potato crop is harvested very late in the fall 

 and no cover crop is used, the soil erodes very readih^ with an appreciable 

 loss of topsoil. It is felt by some that if this soil erosion is permitted to 

 go on without any precautionary measures being taken for its prevention, 

 the present high yields of potatoes cannot be maintained because of loss 

 of organic matter and fertility of the top soil. It is deemed advisable, 

 therefore, to encourage potato growers to practice soil conservation meth- 

 ods such as winter cover cropping and terrace and contour farming of 

 their hillsides. 



The Relation between the Rate of Wind Erosion and the Principal Factors 

 Affecting it. In one phase of this investigation a detailed study was made of 

 the wind erosion at the Cape. The sand areas found at the extremity of 

 Cape Cod are approximately 6,000 acres in extent. Most of these areas, 

 and especially those enclosing Provincetown Harbor, were originally 

 forested but have been extensively devastated within historic time. As 

 far back as 1714, and especially in 1826, extensive reclamation programs 

 were initiated to stabilize these sand areas at the Province Lands. These 

 early attempts were not too successful because wood\^ plants were planted 

 in the shifting sand without any previous introduction of beach grass to 

 prevent the sand from moving away from the newly planted trees. 



Today, various methods are used with great success in controlling the 

 shifting sands and establishing permanent vegetative cover over the dunes. 

 On very active sand dunes, branches of native pine are spread on the 

 northwest side of the dune covering the "blow side" or "live side" of the 

 dune. These branches act as a barrier which reduces the velocity of the 

 wind and a shelter which catches beach grass seed. This beach grass 

 seed, which is plentiful, germinates and the grass starts to establish itself 

 during the next season. Not until the beach grass is well established is 

 it desirable to make any tree plantings. Usually after two or three years 

 the beach grass will spread itself sufficiently over the sand to prevent 

 any further occurrence of serious "blow outs." When this stage has been 

 reached, pine trees can be planted safely. It is the common practice to 



