
cream of the quail country. Since this type, ineluding bottoms, com- 
prised 42 per cent of the state, it is fair to conclude tmt the states 
own agricultural authorities, after a detailed soil survey, have pronounced 
the river breaks in serious danger of permanent deterioration. 
What should be doe? 
At this point it should be pointed out that erosion control is 
more than a matter of stopping gullies. It is first of all a matter of 
conserving organic matter on every square foot of every field through 
proper wotation of crops. No amount of gully-stopping can save a field 
depleted of its fertility. 
However, it is equally true that depletion of soils is an ac- 
complished fact on millions. of acres, and that the prevention of the 
steepened gradients introduced in any field by any gully is a necessary 
supplement to conservative cropping as a means of reclamation. HRevegeta- 
tion of drainage channels is the cheapest means of checking gullies if 
they are there or preventing them if they are not there. 
Such re-vegetation is good agricultural engineering even if there 
were no possible income from game, or crop-benefit from game and other 
birds which such re-vegetation brings with it. When the benefit from birds 
is added, revegetation becomes good land-use. 
Incidentally re-vegetation of drainage channels introduces exactly 
that interspersion of environmental types which is essential to optimum 
yields of “short-radius” game like quail. Most song and insectivorous 
ee 
birds have an even shorter radius of daily travel during their breeding 
season (see Howard, "Territory in Birds"). 
The drainage channels in need.of re-vegetation are literally the 
“warp and woof" of Illinois. If Map 4 could be drawn on a huge scale, or 



