Recommendations.-From the standpoint of flood control, the Mississippi bluffs and silt loam uplands in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana constitute the most critical area in the entire South. The topography is rough, the rainfall heavy, and the soil extremely susceptible to erosion. To make conditions worse, much of the forest has been logged off, and what is left has been subjected to repeated burning. Fires have also reduced the vegetative cover on unimproved land other than forest and have thus further increased run-off and erosion.

Injudicious agricultural practice, even on the land most suitable for cultivation, has resulted in appalling waste of soil resources, while futile attempts have been made to cultivate land which can be used profitably only for timber growing and hence never should have been cleared.

Man can not change the topography, climate, and soil, but he can modify his own use of the land. The fundamental mistake in this region, from the standpoint of soil conservation and flood control, has been an attempt to use true forest land for farms. To rectify this error and prevent further damage to the highlands themselves and to the drainages below, reforestation of the washed and gullied slopes is absolutely essential. The situation calls for drastic action, including not only immediate and thorough research to determine the best methods of planting or natural regeneration, but also the prompt application, over large areas, of the methods thus developed. Reestablishment of a protective forest cover on the greater part of the critical area will not prove sufficient. Every possible precaution must be taken to maintain this cover for all time at maximum efficiency. The development of complete fire protection, while indispensable, is only a preliminary step; proper forest management, including the abandonment of clear-cutting for a system which will keep a perpetual cover on the soil, is also essential. Only in this way can the combined effects of rough topography, easily washed soil, and heavy rainfall be counteracted. Under an aggressive conservation policy such as this, destructive erosion in the uplands can be stopped, silting and sudden flood stages below will be reduced to a minimum, and, incidentally, maximum financial returns will be obtained from the region as a whole.

The fact that little or nothing has been or is being done toward establishing protection forests indicates that results can not be expected from the action of the individual landowners. Only through State or Federal action will adequate measures be assured. This no doubt could best be brought about by the establishment of State or national forests in those regions where the soil erosion problem is most serious. This refers particularly to north central and southwestern Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. It is impossible to state at this time the approximate area of land which should be kept in forest cover for this district, but in many portions of Mississippi and in southeastern Louisiana it will run as high as 75 per cent. In this territory cultivation should be confined to land so level as to make control of erosion relatively easy.

In Tennessee and Kentucky a greater proportion of the land is in cultivation than farther south. Although conditions are not as critical as in Mississippi, it is believed that the highest use of the land

could be assured by the establishment of public forests; probably State-owned forests offer the best means.

State or Federal action to establish publicly owned forests will go far toward solving the question of erosion control in southeastern Missouri. That region, however, forms but a small part of a much larger area which extends into the adjoining watersheds to the west, where similar conditions prevail, and in making recommendations they should be considered together as a unit.

In the Crowley Ridge country and in other parts of the lower Mississippi drainage where topography is rolling in character, great care must be taken in the choice of agricultural methods employed if soil wash is to be held to a minimum. This will entail the general acceptance and practice of those methods which are known to be most effective in conserving soil; namely, contour plowing and terracing. Their attainment will be hastened by the educational measures already instituted by the county agricultural agents who, working in conjunction with extension foresters or State forestry departments, should not fail to stress the absolute necessity of fire protection as well as the value of leaving the rougher, steeper areas in forest and grass cover.

Throughout the critical areas erosion can be decreased by the use of winter cover crops, the incorporation of more organic matter into the soil, the rotation of crops, and by seeding up bare areas to sod grasses, Bermuda grass, white clover, lespedeza, honeysuckle, and other soil-binding vegetation.

RECAPITULATION

The needs of the lower Mississippi Valley fall into certain groupings which will be discussed under their appropriate headings.

Forest management.-Proper forest management is necessary on all forest lands. It is particularly important upon the critical areas in the various drainages described. This management demands such a system of cutting that some forest cover will always be retained to protect these lands from erosion. Some type of selective cutting is desirable, as clear cutting on the steep slopes leaves the land devoid of forest cover for too long a period. Logging on such lands should be so done as to prevent the formation of gullies which serve to accelerate erosion.

Forest planting.-Reforestation will be necessary on much of the abandoned farm land and on areas where erosion is already serious. Wherever the forest cover has been completly removed and there is little hope of obtaining a forest in a short time, it will be necessary to bring back the vegetative cover by artificial means. On pasture lands and worn-out areas, cooperation with the States under section 4 of the Clarke-McNary Act should be encouraged.

Protection from fire. The habitual burning as practiced throughout the South must be stopped. Fire protection is of primary importance as the initial step in any system of forest regeneration. The present practices in the use of fire can be corrected only through the education of the local populace by extension activities. Further cooperation by the States under section 2 of the Clarke-McNary Act is desirable. With protection from fire, the forest litter will not only

prevent surface erosion, but will add humus to the soil, increasing its water-holding capacity, assisting materially in the reduction of floods and in the amount of material carried into the river.

Public ownership of lands.-In order to insure that lands are protected adequately from abuse, public acquisition by the Federal Government, States, or other political organizations is essential. In the Yazoo Highlands, the worst one-fourth or one-third of the area (1,600-2,200 square miles) is recommended for acquisition as a national forest. Public forests should be so located as to take care of this extremely serious situation. The present boundaries of the Ouachita National Forest should be extended to include other critical

areas.

Agriculture.-As with forest lands, proper management of agricultural lands is of primary importance. Present practices resulting in erosion should be so modified by better methods as to increase water absorption, decrease erosion, and thereby assist in the solution of the Mississippi River problem.

Grazing practices, particularly in the Red River drainage, should be so modified as to permit the maintenance of a continuous and effective plant cover.

Forest research.-As so little is known as to the essential phases of the erosion and flood problem, research is badly needed. This involves studies of reforestation whereby planting can be made to stop erosion. Methods must be worked out and species must be determined that can be used to stop the erosion in the shortest possible space of time. As a supplement to planting, some forestengineering technique should be devised, including such things as the possibility of contour plowing, or the use of check and wind dams and other similar terracing devices. Investigations are not needed. to determine so much the quantity of erosion as the quickest possible methods of stopping that which is already in progress, and preventing further erosion from lands which are just now beginning to wash away. Of primary importance are the loess-soil area of the Yazoo, the hill sections in the State of Arkansas, and the "Breaks" of the Arkansas River in Texas. In the latter, some form of vegetation must be found which will be more effective and efficient than the present, and the proper methods of handling livestock must be worked out.

39. Homochitto, Miss.