PREFACE 



Under present conditions, erosion is a serious menace to tobacco 

 soils of the fine-cured and Maryland cigarette tobacco belts. While 

 commercial tobacco culture in the United States began in Virginia 

 and Maryland in the early 1600's, its prominence as a soil-depleting 

 industry is an outgrowth of changed conditions occurring mostly in 

 recent years. 



In early times tobacco production in these areas was based solely 

 upon the Virgin fertility of newly cleared woodland soils. The fields 

 were small. They were generally used for not more than three crops 

 of tobacco — only so long as the native soil fertility would produce 

 good crops of leaf. In some cases the land was then devoted to other 

 crops, more often it was turned back to woods. Under these condi- 

 tions of tobacco culture, soil erosion was held in bounds. Small fields, 

 short use of the land in clean tillage, and the long accumulation of 

 organic matter in the virgin soil contributed less to erosion than do 

 modern methods of tobacco culture. 



The demand for cigarette tobaccos has increased enormously during 

 the past 30 years. With this demand has come greatly enlarged to- 

 bacco acreage and tremendously increased erosion hazard in the flue- 

 cured and Maryland belts. The coarse tobacco that was grown on 

 heavy-textured soil has been replaced by the cigarette type of tobacco 

 that can be produced only on soils of light texture that are moderately 

 low in soil fertility. Soils of this character erode easily when culti- 

 vated continuously under ordinary methods of farming. In the mean- 

 time, knowledge of how to sustain good crops of tobacco by the use of 

 mineral fertilizer has made it less necessary to clear new land. It 

 also tempts the grower to use his land for cultivated crops until organic 

 matter and physical structure deteriorate to low levels. Thus the 

 erosion resistance of the soil has declined and accelerated erosion of 

 the topsoil has resulted. 



This publication treats briefly of the nature and extent of erosion 

 on these tobacco lands and gives some practical mechanical methods of 

 soil protection, which safeguard the specific qualities of leaf demanded 

 by the tobacco trade. Full use of these methods on the flue-cured and 

 Maryland tobacco areas will go far towards protecting these lands 

 against serious erosion loss. Additional agronomic information on 

 improving the erosion resistance of these soils is also urgently needed — 

 particularly as to crop rotations and such use of legumes as will main- 

 tain organic matter and physical structure while preserving the quality 

 of cigarette tobacco required by the trade. However, we now have 

 enough practical knowledge of erosion-control methods to justify 

 a concerted attack upon the erosion problem. Such an attack, to be 

 successful, will require the efforts of all agricultural workers and 

 farmers in putting into practice the conservation measures that have 

 proved most effective to date. 



