HEAD OFFICE: MONTREAL, SEPTEMBER 1952
CONSERVING
OME peopleare shockedby the ideaof the need
for conservation
of resources.
Theyare still
attuned
to thethought
of wideopenspacesm all
theWestto fill-- Canadathegranary
of theworld
andallthat.
s
Theirsortof thinking
marchesalongside
the old
ideathatman’schiefendis to conquer
nature.
Today,
we realizeas neverbeforethatman canonlyremain
top of creation
by workingwithnature.
OUR SOIL
Conservation
meansmore thanputtingthe brakes
on use of fieldcrops,treesand minerals.
The conservationist
is not a hoarder,but a personwho
makesjudicious
choices..
He hasthreegeneralprinciples.
In thefirstplace,
he applies
resources
primarily
to thoseusesforwhichtheypossess
particular
qualifications:
forexample,
crudeoilcaneitherbe burned
undera boilerin competition
withcoalor, whenrefinedintogasoline,
be usedin wayswithwhichcoal
cannotcompete.
In thesecondplace,he prefers
to use
continuing
or recurringresourcesinsteadof fund
resources:
vegetation,
waterandsunshine
instead
of
minerals,
whensucha substitution
is economically
feasible.
Andin thethirdplace,
he triestoprotect
his
sources
of supply.
Thefactthatagricultural
soilresources
intheworld
are limitedmakesit necessary
to use and conserve
themto ourbestability.
Dr.E. S. Archibald,
director
of theExperimental
FarmsServiceat Ottawa,
andnow
an executive
in the Foodand Agriculture
Organizationof theUnitedNations,
estimated
in 1949thatwe
Conservationmay be summarizedas meaning"We
have onlytwo acresto supporteachpersonin the
willusewithout
usingup."It alsomeanstherestoraworld.
tion to sustainedproductivity
of worn or damaged
and it meansselection
of landfor use
Thatis notmuchsoilto supplyallourfoodneeds, resources,
according
to thebestit is capable
ofgiving.
but when properdevelopment
and conservation
are
usedwe canmakeit do.Thisis why farmersare inA reportof theUnited
StatesSoilConservation
Sertroducing
new practices,
and learningto use tech- vicein 1948said:"Oftheapproximately
450million
nologyandscience.
acresnow classified
as cropland,
about60 million
altogether."
That
Conservation
may be embracedas a way of life, shouldbe takenoutof cultivation
land
is
too
steep,
too
shallow,
too
poor,
or
too
"susdesigned
to promotebetterand moreenduring
values
to erosion
to be cultivated
successfully.
for the humanrace.The humanelementis the very ceptible
foundation
of everyconservation
programme,
as well
In our economicsystem,whereinfarmersare free
as beingthereason
forit.
agents,
thereis no authority
to "take"theirlandout
Useandcareoftheirlandis theresponThereis no needforhysteria
aboutconservation. of cultivation.
sibility
of ownersandusers.Theymay,however,
call
While accomplishments
up to now in relationto
authorities
to helpthem.
needsgiveno causeforcomplacency,
thegreatstrides upongovernment
thathavebeenmadein researchin a few yearsare
Agriculturein Canada
trulyimpressive.
The worklookssmallagainstthe
It willbe realized
thathowto useourlandresources
backlog
of thingsundone.
It laggedin itsearlydays
problem,
a localproblem
andan
becauseof thetoo-great
enthusiasm
of itscrusading is at oncea national
individual
problem.
supporters
whokilledpublicinterest
by theirexaggerations.
Nowwe are starting
to catchup withthe
Canada
has,saidlastyear’s
census,
a totalfarmarea
realities.
of 174millionacres,about7~ percentof ourtotal
landarea.Ourgrainexports
reachedan all-time
high
What IS Conservation?
recordin the crop yearwhichendedon July31st,
1952:509 millionbushels,including357 million
Conservation
is the informed,
conscientious
manbushels
of wheatandflour,72 million
bushels
of oats,
agementof resources.
It is development
as wellas
and70 million
bushels
of barley.
protection.
Itis useas wellassaving.
How much more farm land have we? Dr. Archibald allthe peoplein theworldareto enjoyan adequate
tolda UNESCOconference
in 1949thatestimates
of
diet.If we keepincreasing
our population
at the
thetotalpotential
acreage
inCanada
suitable
forculti- present
ratewe areheading
towarda foodcrisis.
vationrangedfromsome350 millionacresto about
130 million
acres.Thehigherfigurerepresents
land
Some peoplein the well-endowed
westernworld
whichis physically
arable,
andthelowerfigure
repre- thinkthatpublicmenand writersareundulypessisentslandwhichon presentday economicand tech- mistic.
In ourowninterests
we shouldnotderidethe
nicallevels
wouldsupport
a self-sustaining
agriculture.thoughtful
students
of resources
who pointout that
"Unsettled,
tillable
landin Canadasuitable
forpres- thereis a limitto howmuchthelandcanproduce,
and
ent-dayagriculture,"
he said,"wouldprobablynot thattheday cancomewhen,as it was phrased
by the
exceedsome40 millionacres,muchof whichis as
conservation
directorof theIzaakWaltonLeagueof
yetinaccessible."
America:
"therewillhe a smallercutof the piefor
eachto have."
Canada’scontinued
prosperity
in agriculture
reflectsthefactthatmanyof thepractices
whichare
Thereremainfewappreciable
areasof unusedferbasicin a plannedsoilconservation
programme
have tiletopsoil
on earthexceptin regions
whereproducbeen followedfor yearsby our more progressive tionis impractical
because
of climatic
conditions
or
farmers.
lack of water.Howeverfar apartthe "prophetsof
doom"and the optimistic
"cornucopians"
may appear,
Somefarmswhichhavebeenundercultivation
since bothgroupsagreethat,if manis to escapewant,all
longbeforeConfederation
are producingfar above knownmethodsof decreasingpresentwasteand of
the averageyieldsof farmcrops.Theirownershave increasing
production
and productivity
willhaveto
appreciated
the factthatthe maintenance
of soil be muchmorewidelyunderstood
and appliedduring
fertility
isthekeytosuccessful
landuseandpreserva- thenextfifty
years.
tion.Theyhavenotminedtheirsoils,but haveconsistently
putsomething
backintothesoilas a capital
Three books which go deeply into the problem
investment.
havebeenpublished
withinthepastfewyears.They
are:Fairfield
Osborn’s
OurPlundered
Planet;
William
Thechanges
thathavetakenplacesincethosefarms Vogt’sRoad to Survival,and Egon Glesinger’s
The
were firstploughed,
and the changeswhichare in
ComingAge oJ Wood.
prospect
daily,makefarminga many-sided
business.
Youngmen who lookforwardto farmingas an occuSinceour spacefor growingcropsis limited,
the
pationwillneedto learntheskillsassociated
with problemsof resourceadequacyin futureyearswill
mechanization,
how to conducta complexbusiness involveprimarily
humanwisdom.Conservation
calls
enterprise,
andthechemistry
andphysics
of conserva- for co-operation
of cityandcountry,
of agriculture
tion.Thosewho are welladaptedfor a businessof
andindustry.
thiskindarelikely
to findinagriculture
opportunities
for graciouslivingand a senseof achievement
as
Because
allwealthderives
primarily
fromtheearth
goodas in any otheroccupation.
and water,industryhas an enormousstakein conservation.
It canprosper
onlyif thereis a bountyof
The Needy World
rawmaterials
fromwhichto fabricate
theproducts
it
sells.Our homes,our incomes,our food and our
Thatis Canada.ButbeyondCanadathereis a needy clothingcome,at some stageor anotherof their
world.Sincethe beginning
of the industrial
revolu- existence,
fromnatural
resources.
Thereis,indeed,
a
tiontherehas been an explosiveupsurgein world veryhumanelementin conservation.
population.
We haveincreased
in numberfourfold
in
thelasttwohundred
years,andexperts
do notpredict "’Water" is a Key Word
a slackening
in therateof increase
forat leastfifty
Water,a basicresource,
has sufferedbecauseof
years.Everydaythereare60,000morepeopleto feed
andclothefromtheresources
of theearththanthere man’slack of understanding.
We have acceptedit
werethedaybefore.
casually.
Because
it is so readily
available,
we have
wastedit;we haveallowed
it to runwildon ourfarm
Abouthalfof theworld’s
people,
a billion
of them, lands.
are under-nourished
or near starvation,
declares
Wasteof waterby unnecessary
runoff,by excesDr. O. M. McConkeyin his book Co~zservation
in
in thehome,andin irrigation,
can
Canadapublished
thisyear.Hisestimate
is confirmed siveusein industry,
waterleveloverwideareas
by an article
in theAnnalsof theAmerican
Academy
of lowerthe underground
In some
Political
andSocialScience,
whereDr.H. L. Shirley, and may depletethe resourcedangerously.
actingdeanof theStateUniversity
of NewYork,says: placeswaterhas becomethe earth’smost precious
"In a worldwherehalfthe peoplearepoorlyfedand resource.
housed,
needless
wasteof resources
is viewedas a sin
Animals
andplantsaretied,by theirlifecycle,
to
againstmankind."
Sir JohnOrr (nowLordBoyd-Orr),
whowasdirector
generalof theFoodandAgriculture water. Most crops requirebetween300 and 400
poundsof waterfor everypoundof dry matterthey
Organization
of the UnitedNations,said in 1947
produce.
thatwe mustdoublethe world’sfoodproduction
if
Conservation
of waterbeginswith the watershed
whichis theareaof drainage
thatfeedswaterby runoff and seepageto surfaceandunderground
streams.
A watershed
may be a smallbasinsupplying
a single
streamtributary
to a largerstream,
or it maybe the
drainagearea,hundredsof squaremilesin extent,
supplying
waterto a largeriver.
Thereare somestrikingcontrasts.
China,whose
northern
mountainsides
wereleftbareby removalof
forestsand othernaturalcoverings,
is a ghastly
epitaphof humaneffortmisapplied,
whileCorsica,
itshillsides
covered
withcultivated
chestnut
trees,
is
an exampleof conservation
practically
appliedover
centuries.
The MiddleEast,believed
to be the birthplace
of
civilization,
hasbeendeforested
anderosion
is widespread.At the beginning
of our Christian
eraPalestinehadthreemillion
people;
by 1850the population
had beenreduced,
largelyby war,abuseof land,and
downof forests,
to below200,000.
Watersheddevelopment
demandscarefulplanning the cutting
andthebesttechnical
skill.Soundland-use
andlandOn the other hand, considerwhat was done by
protectionprogrammesare neededas weU as dams
people
on the Andean Plateauin South America.
andotherstabilization
works.
Theywerechallenged
by a bleakclimateand a grudging
soil
Their
coast
approached
the barrenness
of
Thereis no magicformulathatwillreclaimoverdesert,buttheyhusbanded
thescanty
nighta watershed
thathasbeenallowed
to deteriorate an equatorial
overmanyyears.Onlythoughtfulness,
a desireto set waterthatdescendedfromthe westernplateauand
gavelifeto theplainsby irrigation:
thepioneers
on
things
right,
andskilful
workwilldo thetrick.
the highplateautransformed
theirhill-sides
into
Somepartsof Canadahavethe problemof surplus fieldsby husbandingthe scantysoil on terraces
by retaining
walls.
water,anddrainage
is needed.Thisis particularly preserved
truein EasternCanada,whereheavyclay and muck
thepastisa lesson
tothemostwealthy
countries
soilsbecomeunworkable
for longperiods.Observa- ofAll
today
as
well
as
to
those
which
have
constant
or
tion reportedby Dr. McConkeyshowed that the
recurring
scarcities:
on theonehandto preserve
what
averageyieldof grainwasincreased
23 bushelsper they
have,and on the otherto rebuildto the extent
acre on drainedland as comparedwith undrained oftheir
ability.
landinthefirst
year.
Erosionmust be controlledin the watershedif
floodsareto be avoided,
if reservoirs
arenotto becomesilted
up,ifwateris tobe stored
in timesof rain
andfedoutin timesof drought.
In dryareas,
irrigation
takes
a g.reat
dealoftherisk
outof farming,
and a biggervarietyof cropscanbe
grown.Even in Ontario,wheredroughtis not the
problem
it is in theWest,cropssometimes
sufferfrom
drynessduringthecritical
growing
periods.
How it is to be Done
Conservation
grows only througha continuous,
critical
correction
of pasterrors.
Takeerosion
control,
forexample.
Theerosionprocessis vicious.
A gully,
eatenoutby unchecked
water,
To increaseundergroundwater for wells,for
is a cancerwhichcanspreadintoa farmer’s
richest
springs,
andformaintenance
of streams,
everyeffort land,ruining
it. Winderosionnotonlycarriesaway
shouldbe madeto havethe rainfallsink intothe
soil,butit changesthetextureof thelandthrough
ground,andto storeit in poolson highlandandat
removalof fertileelements.
Samplestakenof dust
streamsources.
carriedby thewindcontained
morethanthreetimes
as much organicmatterand nitrogen,nearlyfive
Pondsare now beingwidelyusedin the conserva- timesas much phosphoricacid,one and a quarter
tionprogramme
in WesternCanada.Earthis removed timesas muchpotash,
as theoriginal
soil.
ata lowpartofa pasture
field,
orin a gully,
andbuilt
Watererosionstartswiththe firstdropof rain,
intoa dykeor smalldam.Thena few trees,suchas
theimpactof theraindrop
tampsthesoilinto
willow,
elmor softmapleareplanted
aroundthepond, because
a thinhardlayerthatreduces
infiltration,
increases
and turfis growndownto the wateredge.
runoffandencourages
thewaterto pursueitsdevastaBesidesactingas reservoirs
forreplenishment
of tingcourse.
streams,
thesepondsstorewaterfordomestic
animals
Smallgraincrops,suchas wheat,oats,barleyand
and accommodate
fishand otherwildlifecreatures.
rye,willlose16 to 40 timesas muchsoilto water
erosionas willwoodlands,
forestsand undisturbed
It is not Amusing
prairies.
Dr. McConkey
provides
a tableshowingthe
The needfor conservation
is not something
to be
soilerodedon testlotsin 1945to 1950.Thelossper
brushedofflightly,
evenin a well-endowed
country acre on summer fallow was 154.7 tons; on land
likeCanada.
Studyof whatcausedthedownfall
of once plantedto corn172 tons;on oats3.85tons,and on
greatcountries
showsthatfailure
to conserve
natural alfalfa
0.29tons.
and renewable
resourceshad much to do withtheir
collapse.
Manyof themwerejustas richas Canada.
Lossof Fertility
Whatdoesthismeanin lossof soilfertility?
The
In sections
of Europe,Asiaand Africanothingis
professor
ofsoilsattheUniversity
leftbutscarsandugliness
andtheashesof burned-out lateDr.F.A. Wyatt,
of Alberta,
saidthatthelossof oneinchof soilfrom
civilizations.
oneacreof landin the blacksoilsbeltof Alberta
means the removalof 300 poundsof phosphorus,
1,500poundsof nitrogenand 15 tons of organic
matter.It wouldrequire150 tonsof farmmanureto
replacethe lostnitrogen,
and the phosphorus
lost
wouldbe equalto the amountremovedfromthe soil
by 20 cropsof wheat,eachyielding50 bushelsto
theacre.
For Canadaas a wholethe bottomof the barrel
seemswellcovered,butfor peoplein manysections
of Canadait is frighteningly
bare.
Lookingto the Future
Our conservation
educationand effortsneedthe
support
of everycitizen
-- farmer,
industrialist,
professionalman,housewife,
merchant,unionleader,
parliamentarian,
journalist
andartisan.
Somepreventive
measuresare purelymechanical,
suchas terracing
to slowdownthe runoff,but the
Searching
alwaysfor water-saving
practices,
for
higherand morerewarding
formsof soilconservation weed and pestcontrol,for adaptationgf
seedsand
involve
various
modesof incorporating
plantmaterial plantsto ourCanadian
climate,
andfor ~rmingoperin thesoil.Theybuildupthefertility
ofthesoil.Only ationsdesigned
to makefor betterfafrmliving,the
a fertile
soilcanresist
erosive
forces.
directors
andscientists
andtechnicia~fis
of federal
and
provincialgovernmentdepartments
and of private
Contour
cultivating
is a variation
oftheterrace
idea, enterprises
are doinggoodworkto turnhumaneffort
andstripcropping
is a supplement
whichpayswellin
to nature’s
way.Butmoreis needed.
EasternCanadaby placinga furtherimpediment
in
Theactivities
of government
at alllevelsshould
thewayof the water,and in WesternCanadaby repromote
and
assist
the
conservation
practices
which
ducingthe creepingmenaceof erosionby wind.
areto be undertaken
by individuals,
andgovernm.ent
theresponsibility
fornecessary
enterprises
Croprotation
playsitspart.By growingdifferent mustaccept
of individuals.
Governkindsof cropson thesamelandin recurring
succes- whicharebeyondthecapacity
ment
must,
too,
bring
in
regulatory
measures,
which
sionit variesthe consumption
and replacement
of
in conserorganic
material
andnitrogen
in thesoil,increases aretherulesof thegame,justas necessary
vationas theyarein transportation,
communication
absorbency
and reduceswaterrunoff.
andotherenterprises
thataffectthepublicwelfare.
Stubble-mulch
farmingis a systemin whichthe
Widepublicsupportis essential.
Interest
andacresidues
of the cropsarelefton thesurface.
This tivityin conservation
giveeveryoneof us thechance
mulchprevents
rainfall
frompacking
thesoil,it holds to say thatwe are a partof the answerto a world
water,
it resists
windaction,
andas itdecays
andforms problemand notpartof the problemitself.Through
humusit improves
thesoilstructure.
membership
in and supportof the nationaland provincialand communityconservation
organizations
Thislastis veryimportant,
because
sicksoilmeans we can participate
personally
in a greatendeavour.
sickcrops.A deficiency
of humusmeansa deficiency
of bacteria
in thesoilanda deficiency
of thoseuseful
If we arefarmers,
we canredesign
ourfarmsto put
aidsto agriculture,
the earthworms
(to whichsome- everyacreto itsbestuseinaccord
withitsindividual
one gavethe poetictitle"Theploughsof God").
capabilities.
Our farmplantscan be actually
redesigned,
justas factories
are,formoreefficient
operaThe farmer’s
soilis not a deadstorehouse,
buta
tion.
livingdynamicsystemin whichconstructive
and
The conservationjob is far from completed.A
destructive
forcesareconstantly
proceeding.
seriesof majorproblems
andtasksstretch
outbefore
the peopleof Canada,and especiallybeforethe
On Blaming the Past
owners
of natural
resources
andindustries.
It is a sign
Man hasindeed,in the past,markedtheearthwith of the highest
intelligence
to takeeffective
action
ruin,but spreadof knowledgeleavestoday’smen
beforerather
thanaftera threatening
event.
withoutthe excusethat can be madefor ancestors
By thinking
constructively
andactingenergetically,
ignorant
of thefactsscience
hasuncovered.
we may avert the need for desperateemergency
of reclamation
andrehabilitation.
Withno criticism
of the past,but havingreached measures
maturity
and beinganxiousto avoidthenaturalmisWhoeverdestroys,
or by his negligence
allowsto
takesof our youth,we needto formulate
and carry
be
destroyed,
the
fertility
of
the
soil
in
any
is
outplanswhichwillcauseoursuccessors
of a hundred doingan injuryto mankindas a whole. region
yearshenceto say thatwe had the imagination
and
courage
to carryouttheconservation
planswhichour
As saneand responsible
people,we willsubscribe
sciencemadepossible.
to thecreedof a Nigerian
chieftain
whosaid:
We need a broaderand more earnesteducational
drive.Conservation
of Canada’s
naturalresources
is
nota subject
tofillan oddhour,orto hoveraround
on
theperiphery
of theschoolcurriculum.
I conceive
thatthelandbelongs
to a
vastfamily,
of whichmanyaredead,
few areliving,andcountless
numbers
arestillunborn.
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