Results of No Protecting Carpet of Vegetation 75 



stream and allow it to stand until the water settles. In the 

 bottom will then appear a layer of fine mud, or silt as it is 

 usually called. How much soil do you suppose the rivu- 

 lets washed from my garden and from yours during the last 

 severe storm? How much do you suppose all the rivulets 

 which make up the rivers of your state washed from all the 

 gardens and fields during the same storm? . Make a guess 

 and then multiply your answer by the number of storms 

 in one year and that by fifty years, and you will get a quan- 

 tity greater than you would believe possible. 



This is the way Nature takes her toll for our carelessness. 

 So quietly does she do it that often the farmer does not have 

 any idea of what is happening. She is like a thief that 

 comes and steals his goods while he is sleeping. 



When the farmer finally awakes and begins to wonder 

 why his crops grow smaller each year, he has already lost 



Bailey Willis 



The soil on the hillsides of China is being washed away because of the thoughtless- 

 ness of the people. 



