4 THES ASUeD UU" BrOeNs (Bb Ur be heise 
By 1945 the acreage of corn and soybeans had expanded until the two 
crops occupied 60 per cent of the farm area of the six counties. Altho total 
acreage of these crops has since declined slightly, in some areas 80 per cent 
of the land continues to be planted to corn and soybeans. This, Walker 
points out, leaves little acreage for the close growing crops which help to 
hold the soil. 
The solution? Put into crop production only land that can be safely used 
for that purpose. Leave the rest for hay, pasture, and timber. Use better 
rotations on the land set aside for crop production. No more than half of 
even the best land should be planted to intertilled crops such as corn and 
soybeans in any one year, says Walker. Leave a fourth of the land for small 
grains and a fourth for pasture mixtures of legumes and grasses. 
Where land is of low fertility or in much danger of erosion, reduce the 
proportion of intertilled crops to a third, a fourth, or even a fifth. Increase 
pasture acreage correspondingly. 
Use plenty of the right kinds of fertilizers. Employ such erosion-stop- 
ping procedures as grass waterways, contouring, strip cropping, terracing, 
and planned draining. Engage in better methods of farm woodlot manage- 
ment, reforestation, and wildlife protection. 
The death of a lake is a big price to pay for these lessons in conserva- 
tion, but if they’re well learned it’s worth it. 
ft is ft 
Jackson Park Birds 
By MARJORIE and JAMES DECKER 
BIRD WATCHERS LIVING in the suburbs probably feel they have a distinct ad- 
vantage over city dwellers when it comes to seeing birds in their own back- 
yards. However, we have found Jackson park to be a convenient substitute 
for the backyard, offering constant variety in bird life, only a few blocks 
from home. Here, in the midst of the city and surrounded by busy city life, 
we have some of the most interesting birding in the Chicago region. 
This article is a summary of bird activity in the park from Jan. 1, 1949, 
through Oct. 24. During this nearly 10 months we saw 148 species. We visited 
the park about 60 times in this period, mostly on weekends plus a number 
of short early morning walks during spring migration. 
Jackson park is an area of 543 acres, with 22 acres set aside and fenced 
in for a bird sanctuary. Most of this sanctuary is visible from the 68rd st. 
extension bridge separating the two lagoons. In this sanctuary are several 
small islands, one of which this summer served as a gathering and re- 
grouping place for large numbers of black-crowned night herons on their 
way from feeding grounds to the south to their roost north of the city. Often 
75 to 100 of the herons would stop between 3 p.m. and dusk, coming in at 
a great height, then swooping at breath-taking speed, more like hawks than 
herons. They would fly in and take off in twos and threes all afternoon, 
until at twilight 40 might be seen in the air at once, flapping northward. 
By Aug. 15 most of the herons had left. 
