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land. When our founding fathers began in this new country, they did over-work the land because! there was so much of it; when one farm was depleted, there were untold thousands of acres lying to the west. That much of the land depletion is true, but those men had come from England, Scotland, and Wales, where land and resources were scarce and they knew the consequences. Their frugal natures and years of using small amounts of land gave them habits of careful land use.
The bulk of the blame has to be laid on later years of the nation’s history. It is pretty safe to say that the past hundred years have been the most wasteful. Until an acute problem arose, like the terrible dust storms man did not fully realize what he was doing to himself and his future by znis-using the land. ' *
A concentrated program Of conservation is now in progress and has been going for some years. Results are beginning to show.; Where the word conservation means “keeping in a safe and sound state,” many of the lands are having to be “put back” Into that shape before the “keeping” can begin.
Game reserves have been created to protect man from his own destructiveness. The great American buffalo got to be a zoo animal before conservation practices stepped into prevent the wholesale slaughter. The same practices are being used to save the deer, fish of the streams, birds, and other wildlife.
In our own country a winning battle is in progress against the enemy, soil erosion. Construction of farm ponds is meaning saving water and furnishing protection against fire. Forest harvesting practices are being encouraged to help save the nation’s lumber.
It is an odd commentary that the men who work with the nation’s conservation program have to “sell” most people on the idea of taking the best care of their land. One would think that the land and forest owner would seek help in learning the way to best use his land to his own advantage, but often it is not true. Sometimes a landowner resents being told that what he is doing and what his father did before him are not the best practices for the good of the land. But, with a true eye for his own good, once a land owner learns what is best and begins to see results of conservation practices, then he is all sold and a firm believer.
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