Properties of Soils Which Influence Soil Erosion

Soil erosion is not a new problem, the necessity for protection of farm lands from denudation having long been recognized. In 1909 in a report of the National Conservation Commission (ISY attention was called to the enormous losses resulting from erosion, and in 1911 a bulletin on soil erosion (15) discussed the problem and remedial measures which might be employed. These reports apparently roused very little interest. In recent years, however, the work of agricultural experiment stations and of the Federal Government (S) has served to focus attention on the great loss resulting from erosion. The Seventieth Congress made a special appropriation for the study of soil erosion and water conservation, with particular reference to the various soil types. Experimental work on erosion will be done at several stations established for this purpose. Experimental field studies on soil erosion have been m progress for several years at the State agricultural experiment stations at Columbia, Mo., Spur, Tex., and Raleigh, N. C, and at the Forest Service experiment stations at Ephraim, Utah, and San Bernardino, Calif. In this field work it has been recognized that some soil types erode more readily than others. The literature reveals no laboratory studies which show any relation between erosivity and the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil types. The fact that definite information concerning the erosional behavior of soils was not available explains this lack of investigation. Such information became available with the appearance of the results (4, 5, 6, 7, 8) of extensive