APPENDIX B 121 



now is your reaction to the idea that the ordinary moldboard plow 

 (which buries surface litter and exposes bare soil) may be an instru- 

 ment of land destruction? Can you suggest a different way of pre- 

 paring a seed bed? 



CHAPTER IX 



(1) The task here suggested cannot be entered into lightly. It 

 cannot be completed in a few hours. Even if it requires a year or 

 two of intermittent effort, it will be worthwhile. That gaping hole 

 in education, particularly urban education (i.e., ignorance of local 

 geography, local biology, local history, local economics, etc.) will be 

 partly filled. It is a disheartening fact that the average student prob- 

 ably knows more about Iceland, Holland and Siam that he does about 

 his own county and state. 



Let us then take the local county as a unit of study and learn 

 something about it. While it is well to know the good things about 

 your county, it is more important to know what is wrong with it. And 

 so, having made a start through the activities of Chapter 3, why not 

 complete an inventory of the ecological disasters which have befallen 

 your community. Using the virgin conditions found by your recent 

 ancestors as a basis of comparison, what has happened in regard to : 



(a) Erosion and soil productivity 



(1) extent of areas injured by erosion 



(2) degrees of injury by erosion 



(3) decline in fertility and yields 



(4) effect on wildlife 



(5) effects on land users 



(6) effects on business, and public services such as schools and 

 roads 



(b) Floods 



(1) record of frequency for past 40 years 



(2) record of heights for past 40 years 



(3) record of damages for past 40 years 



(4) causes of changes in 1, 2, and 3 



(c) Water Table 



(1) reliability and amount of spring flow in various areas 



(2) changes in necessary depth of wells 



(3) regularity of stream flow throughout year 



(4) relation of 1, 2, and 3 to soil erosion 



(5) increasing uses of ground water for industry, civic sup- 

 ply, air conditioning, and irrigation (these may affect 

 ground water levels) 



(d) Drainage 



(1) successes and failures of drainage projects 



(2) effects on wildlife 



(3) economic consequences 



