Australia
Burma
Canada
China
Finland
Germany, Federal Republic
Ghana
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
New Caledonia
Norway
Sarawak
Surinam
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States of America
· A newspaper source the discovery of methods of extracting hyoscine and atropine from a common bush shrub has turned Australia into one of the world's major sources of these drugs. Quantities of them are now being extracted commercially.
The shrub is duboisia, which grows wild in many parts of Australia. Hyoscine is used for inducing "twilight sleep" and atrophine for dilating the pupils in eye operations.
Scientists have also perfected a method of extracting the cough medicine ingredients, menthol and thymol, from Australian eucalyptus trees. Other substances found in Australian gums are the drug rutin, used for breaking blood clots, and ascutin, a sun-tan lotion constituent.
· An official report to FAO states that most State forest services are pursuing an active policy of increasing the forest estate by the acquisition of suitable Crown land and, in some cases, the purchase of private property. The decision to acquire land for forest purposes is usually taken only after agreement with the State Lands Department on land utilization classification. During the last two years there has been an increase of nearly one million acres (404,700 ha.) in the area of dedicated forest, and of about a quarter of a million acres (101,170 ha.) in timber and other reserves. A general principle which has developed in connection with land-use planning is that Crown land is not alienated without reference to the Forest Authority, nor without the prior harvesting of any merchantable timber crop thereon.
There is a distinct trend towards the dedication of any timber reserves which may be suitable for permanent forest management. In some of the present inaccessible forest areas of Tasmania, the making of new roads is planned to serve the combined purposes of forest management and mineral prospecting and development, as well as the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations.
· On page 141 of Volume 10, No. 3, of Unasylva, an item gives the botanical name of paperback as E. fitzgeraldi. In fact, the paperback Or the Northern Territory is not a eucalypt but is Melaleuca leucadendron.
· A government report states that the Shan States Soil Conservation Department continues its activities. Eight soil conservation demonstration centers are in operation in these hill areas for experiments on contour cultivation, contour cropping, strip cropping, crop rotation, terracing, maintenance of terraces and water ways, gully control and afforestation. Besides these regular operations in demonstration centers, technical assistance is also given to cultivators in their own fields on soil conservation works and also in techniques of planting and afforestation Work is also in progress to protect and improve water springs and catchment areas at seven reservoirs.
Rehabilitation of reserved forests in the plains of Burma, severely damaged during the war and subsequent insurrection, is being continued in localities where conditions permit. This field will be one of the major operations of the Forest Department. Roughly about 75 percent of the reserved forests in the "local supply working circles" require to be rehabilitated. As rehabilitation in the quickest possible time is imperative, an unprecedented area of about 2,000 acres (810 ha.) will require to be regenerated yearly in each forest division compared with the normal annual acreage of 300 to 400 acres (120 to 160 ha.). These reserves are the most important and accessible forest areas to meet the demands of the heavily populated tracts for firewood, poles, house-posts and small saw timber.
The work under the afforestation scheme in the Dry Zone aims at the formation of productive forests for domestic consumption and protective forests to check the deterioration of the soil by erosion and lowering of the water level. The work is undertaken by the Agriculture and Rural Development Corporation with seconded personnel of the Forest Department whose work is made easier by the close cooperation given by the territorial staffs of the Forest Department.
In the Dry Zone, up to 1956, the following areas have been afforested:
|
|
acres |
hectares |
|
Village forests |
3,456 |
(1,399) |
|
Demonstration areas |
1,917 |
(776) |
|
TOTAL |
5,373 |
(2,175) |
On the elopes of Mount Popa which has an elevation of 5,000 ft. (1,524 m.) where most of the large streams of the Dry Zone have their sources, the past practice of shifting cultivation to form banana plantations has resulted in advanced erosion and lowering of the water table and reduction of active springs from nearly a hundred to about a dozen.
Afforestation work is being carried out in the Popa Reserve; and in the unclassified forests on the lower fertile slopes, coffee plantations of about 20 acres (8 ha.) have been established to serve as a demonstration area to encourage the local people to supplement their low incomes. This afforestation-cum-coffee-planting has been adopted as an experiment to combat shifting cultivation practices in many other hill areas.
· Forest site classification by relating the forest to the associated plant communities has been used in European countries for a long time, and has also been developed in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The method has also been carried to the northeastern coniferous section of the Boreal Forest Region of Quebec. A study begun in 1949 demonstrates the close relationships of soil and subordinate vegetation with the productivity of the forest. It does not deal with systematic integration of the physiographic features of site with the general scheme of site classification, and it is to be accepted that physiography is an integral part of the whole complex problem of forest site classification.
|
Associations |
Site type |
Site class |
|
Balsam Fir | ||
|
1. Associated with herbs and ferms |
Dry-0 |
I |
|
2. Associated with mosses and herbs |
H-0 |
II |
|
The common herb is Oxalis |
Cal-0 |
II |
|
Balsam Fir/White Birch | ||
|
3. Associated with herbs mosses not forming a carpet |
Co-Ma |
l |
|
Balsam Fir/Black Spruce | ||
|
4. Associated with herbs and mosses, or mosses alone |
H-co |
II |
|
Black Spruce | ||
|
5. Associated with herbs and ferns |
Pte-Ar |
I |
|
6. Associated with herbs and mosses, or mosses alone |
Hyp |
II |
|
7. Associated with mosses and dwarf shrubs |
Hyp-Ka |
III |
|
8. Associated with sphagnum and draft shrubs |
Sph-Ru |
IV |
|
Jack Pine | ||
|
9. Associated with lichens and dwarf shrubs |
Ka-Va |
|
The general scheme developed by the study is summarized in the Table.
Appendices to the published study define the specialized terms used, give scientific and common names of plants, a sample of the form used in field work and summarize the structural and synthetic of the vegetation in the major subordinate types.
· In China, the most important thing is that a coffin timber should be fragrant or scented and this preference may be one of the influences behind the present dispute about that part of North Burma which immediately adjoins China. For this territory, otherwise of slight account, is one of the two "station" of the most desired of "coffin trees," Taiwania cryptomerioides: the other is the island of Formosa.
The most productive tree, for coffin timbers, is the Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), which, in spite of its name, belongs to China as well as to Japan. Two interesting facts about Cryptomeria may be worth noting. The oldest timber building in the world (it is now a Japanese museum, dates from 753, and not long ago celebrated a twelve-hundredth anniversary) is built of Cryptomeria And both the oldest and the longest avenues in the world (about 650 years old and 24 miles long respectively) are of living Cryptomeria - both "champions" being in Japan. It is the fragrance of Cryptomeria timber that has caused it to be called Japanese cedar: it is nothing like any true cedar in appearance and has no close botanical relationship.
· In Finland, Picea abies forests appear to be spreading rapidly at the expense of Pinus silvestris stands. Because both species are valuable for timber, this problem has caused Finnish foresters to ask themselves whether this natural development should be permitted to continue or whether it should be fumed in another direction which might be more profitable for the national economy and for the individual owner. A communication of the Forest Research Institute at Helsinki, on the development of managed spruce stands in southern Finland, attempts to give an answer. Comparisons between spruce and pine have been made with regard to such factors as number of trees per hectare, mean diameter, basal area, height, volume, bark percentage, current annual and total volume growth, rotation of maximum volume growth, volume removal, stand structure and total yield.
The conclusion is that, on better quality sites, spruce is more desirable, because of its greater volume growth of stem wood while pine is better for poorer quality sites. However, artificial regeneration of spruce should be practised only where natural reproduction is not practicable because of inadequate numbers or poor quality of seed trees. Proper silvicultural measures can increase greatly, perhaps even double, the growth of spruce forests in southern Finland.
· Following recommendations made at the Twelfth Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations in 1956, an agreement has been reached between the forestry faculties of Freiburg, Göttingen and Munich, the Center for Forest Bibliography, Freiburg, the Union of Forest Research Organizations, Hann. Münden, the Federal Research Institute at Reinbek and the Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forestry to set up a new documentation center for the sciences of forestry and wood utilization at Reinbek. Its task will be the collection and classification of German and foreign titles, clarification of terminology, and the publication of a journal of abstracts. The center will concentrate in the first place on European and Asiatic literature, and it is expected to commence operations soon.
· Bestockungsaufbau und Baumartenwandel nordischer Urwälder (STRUCTURE AND TREE SUCCESSION OF NORTHERN VIRGIN FORESTS), by Dr. Richard Plochmann and recently pub fished in Hamburg by Paul Parey, is based on data from 560 sample plots gathered in 1953 during employment with the Forest Inventory of Alberta, Canada. The author considers the problems of
a) occurrence, composition, structure, growth capacity and life cycles of the forest types;
b) influence of forest fires and regeneration of burned areas;
c) succession following fires.
Photograph: U. K. Information Service
· Light trucks travel over scarcely negotiable roads to collect huge mahogany logs felled in the forests of the newly independent state of Ghana, formerly called Gold Coast. Logs still form the bulk of timber exports but as more sawmills are built, more sawn wood is shipped overseas to the United States and Britain.
· Few drugs have attracted so much worldwide attention as the root of Rauwolfia serpentina. This is due to its efficacy in reducing high blood pressure and also to its well-marked sedative properties. Several kinds of alkaloid so far discovered from the roots, reserpine in particular, are thought to be responsible for this effect. The plant has a sporadic distribution in India, Ceylon, Burma, Thailand and Java. The present demand for the roots is far greater than the available supply.
Forest Leaflet No. 142 of the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun, describes how this small-sized plant can be grown artificially with alkaloid contents similar to the naturally grown plants under Indian conditions. Five pounds (2.3 kg.) of seed, with about 30 to 35 percent germination, are required for planting one acre. For sowing this amount of seed, 1/20 acre (0.2 ha.) of nursery is necessary. The seeds are best sown about the middle of May. Beds should be irrigated immediately after sowing, and later as and when required. The germination is gradual, and the growth of the seedlings is slow. Deep sandy loam or sandy clay loam soil appears most suitable for getting good growth of roots As preparation for transplanting, beds of suitable size preferably with irrigation channels should be laid out according to the lie of the land. Transplanting should be started about the first week of July, when the monsoon rains are established. Tentative spacing is at 2 x 1 feet (60 cm. x 30 cm.). The plants may be irrigated fortnightly in the hot and dry season, and about once a month during winter. About two weedings are necessary during the monsoon, and one hoeing at the end of the growing season. Manuring at the time of hoeing is desirable to get a high yield of roots. From the cultural experiments carried out, it has been observed that, under irrigated conditions, it is possible to obtain roots of exploitable size from about two- or three-year-old plantings. A yield of about 2,000 pounds (907 kg.) of air-dry roots (including fibrous roots) per acre can be obtained from a two-year-old crop and about 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg.) from a three-year-old.
· The Director of the Forest Service reports that as a result of the strong impulse towards industrialization, especially on the overpopulated islands of Java and Madura, special attention has recently been paid to the planning of "industrial" plantations. A special planning committee has been set up to study the possibilities for:
1. supplying present industries with adequate raw materials from the existing forests;2. establishing new industries to utilize the species commonly available;
3. planting suitable species as raw material supply for already existing industries and new industries in the future.
The committee is primarily concerned with the islands of Java and Madura, because these overpopulated islands are badly in need of industries; the status of the forests is clear and settled (they are nearly 100 percent state forests); and the existing system of roads is adequate for extraction and transportation.
However, 5 percent of the planned industrial forest area is in Sumatra. The first industrial development plan, established with the assistance of an FAO officer, Dr. J. A. von Monroy, has already been approved by the Government and adopted as an integral part of the first national five-year development plan.
· The new United States Ambassador to Italy has been president of the Crown Zellerbach Corporation, the second largest paper company in the world, since 1938.
Crown Zellerbach, formerly a Pacific Northwest operation, now has plants extending from Miami, Florida, to Ocean Falls, British Columbia. It produces a widely diversified range of more than 400 different forest products - from structural timber to facial tissue. It is a wholly integrated operation - controlling every phase of its operations from tree planting through logging, pulping, paper and other manufacturing, converting, and wholesaling. In accordance with Zellerbach's guiding philosophy of being "merchants of trees," Crown Zellerbach seeks to use each tree it grows to the greatest economic advantage-whether for paper, plywood, lumber or chemical products.
· An official report to FAO points out that, in prewar days, forest grazing was controlled in connection with the supply of horses for military purpose. Since the war and the cessation of this demand, control of forest grazing has largely ceased and degradation of soils and grassland has followed.
Now livestock farming is being popularized as a means of rural economic recovery, and the systematic grazing in forest areas of sheep and goats as well as horses and oxen is being practised. Forest grazing is, therefore, coming to play an important part in farming economy, and renewed emphasis is being placed on correct grazing practices and management Research is being carried out at the Government Forest Experiment Station, and field experiments are being conducted by local authorities and private agencies, to determine the correct management procedures for various types of forest land, how to improve permanent pastures, and the best forage species to grow.
The establishment of shade-trees on the wild land at the foot of Mount Aso is being undertaken, and general economic studies on the utilization of all available grassland.
· The Forest Service, with such means as it has at its disposal, has been carrying out trials on a modest scale in reforestation with both local and introduced species, as a means of land rehabilitation. A report to FAO says that a few species have proved especially interesting.
Among the indigenous species, those which seem most suitable at low altitudes are Araucaria cookii, Afzelia bijuga, and the sandalwood Santalum album. At medium altitudes, the kauri (Agathis op.) can be used for restocking the forests.
Among introduced species, good results have been obtained with eleven different eucalyptus (E. naudiniana in particular) and the mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), which has also been used in Fiji. Other species being tried are Araucaria cunninghamii; various pines, in particular Pinus merkusii on certain soils, P. elliottii which has made promising beginnings, and P. caribaea, P. palustris, P. taeda and P. radiata for which it seems possible to find the right ecological conditions. In this range of species, it should be possible to find trees suited to local conditions.
· The annual "Forestry Calendar" compiled and edited by Julius Nygaard in Oslo, Skogalmanakk 1957, has now appeared for the fortieth time, bringing the total number of copies issued up to 120,000. The majority of Norwegian foresters find this pocketbook useful in their work. The new edition is again enlarged and rearranged, and contains more than 500 pages of information on nearly everything of a practical interest to people engaged in forestry and forest utilization.
· A report to the FAO Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission states that large-scale exploitation of timber is still mainly restricted to Mixed Swamp Forests, partly because they are the most accessible and easily worked, partly because they contain the most valuable timber, 'ramin' (Gonystylus bancanus). These forests are almost invariably worked by hand-sledding the logs to a light railway, by means of which they are in turn transported to a floatable river. In one swamp forest of the 'alan' (Shorea albida) type, a sky-line is being used, but the stands of timber in most other types of forest are not large enough to justify such methods. Elephants are used in one Lowland Dipterocarp Forest but have not been a great success.
The number of tree species in Sarawak forests is probably between 2,500 and 3,000, but very few of these can be used at present as timber. Tests of a number of species for use in particle board manufacture are, however, in hand.
The trade in fuelwood is relatively small, with little demand for either firewood or charcoal except in the few large towns, scattered local industries, and a rather erratic export to Hongkong. Both commercial firewood and charcoal are usually mangrove, but there is some demand for the superior and relatively expensive 'ru ronang' (Casuarina sumatrana). Annual commercial production is about 34,000 tons (weight) of firewood and 4,000 tons of charcoal.
The principal minor forest products, the trade in which also depends mainly on export markets, are 'jelutong' (a wild rubber which is the principal ingredient of chewing gum), 'cutch', 'damar', and 'illipe' nuts (the oils seeds produced by certain Dipterocarpaceae). The export trade in 'jelutong' is usually valued at about Malayan $3 millions; that of cutch at about $470,000; and of damar at about $45,000.
Good crops of illipe nuts are produced only at irregular and rather long intervals; 1964 was a record year, with a trade valued at $12.6 millions, but since then the crops have been almost negligible.
· Writing about the possibilities of afforestation in Surinam with a view to the production of raw material for the paper industry, a correspondent says that the Government of Surinam is making arrangements with certain Netherlands papermills for the plantation and exploitation of forests for the above-mentioned purpose. The attractiveness of the plan is, that the savanna territory - which is of no use as yet for other purposes - might play its part in the development of the prosperity of the country as a whole.
Research favors the introduction of conifers, of which there are some species develop well in subtropical and tropical areas. It is the intention to try several species before deciding the question which kind of wood will do for the total project.
The idea is to begin with an area of about 3,000 hectares for an experimental period of 5 to 10 years, and then extend planting to 40,000 hectares. The pulpwood will be shipped in the round from Surinam to the Netherlands.
· In a recent issue of Unasylva, reference was made to the fact that the Federal Assembly of the Swiss Confederation had passed an important new law that makes substantial amendments and additions to the laws of 11 October 1902 and 19 December 1951, which are the basic forest laws of Switzerland.
The main provisions of the new law, which is a striking advance in forestry legislation, are:
1. By means of subsidies, it enables the Confederation to encourage the training of forest workers arranged by the Cantons or forestry organizations.2. The law lays down further cases in which the Confederation may subsidize forestry work, or increase the rate of the subsidies that could hitherto be granted. Thus subsidies may be given for the establishment of new protective forests, reclamation work in this connection, and the construction of engineering works to protect such forests against avalanches and falls of rock; reforestation to be carried out in protective forests as a result of extraordinary circumstances, such as serious fires or attacks by pests; the establishment of access roads; towards the expenditure entailed by the re-grouping of plots of private forests; construction of roads, paths and cableways in areas liable to avalanches (up to 80 percent of cost), construction of avalanche control works (up to 80 percent); and fencing and other arrangements for the protection of plantations against grazing by livestock (also up to 8% percent).
3. It empowers the Confederation to promulgate the necessary regulations for control and protection against forest pests and diseases, including the treatment of threatened stands and the control of imports of seed, planting stock and forest products from abroad. It is compulsory to use "seed and planting stock of known provenance and suited to the site" for carrying out deforestation and reforestation projects.
4. Finally, it increases the scale of the fines for certain offences against the law. For infringements of the regulations relating to forest protection and the provenance of plants and seed, the fine is fixed at from 20 to 2,000 Swim francs.
A Federal Council Decree of 16 October 1956 relates to the enforcement of two compulsory measures laid down in the new law. It enjoins on the cantons the obligation to establish forest plant protection services functioning under the supervision of the Federal Department for Forest Inspection, which is also authorized to set up an advisory forest plant protection commission. The cantonal forest plant protection services must prescribe control measures and verify their application, as well as that of any measures that may be prescribed by the Federal authorities.
The use of suitable seed and planting stock in planting projects is the joint responsibility of the landowner and of the proprietors of seed firms, private or public forest nurseries and dealers and importers who supply planting material and seed.
· Forestry Abstracts has recently included a compact summarization of the use of aircraft in forest insect control, based on analysis of 174 publications, mostly those of the Commonwealth. Part I deals with history, aerial surveys and the application of insecticides by dusting and spraying. Part II covers recent spruce-budworm operations, both in Canada and the U.S.A. (Canada, in particular, has pioneered and developed air techniques). Part III covers assessment of results, and is particularly complete in reporting the effects of treatment on the pest and associated insect populations, the effects on the forest, and the effects on vertebrates. Since there is controversy, particularly on the latter; it is well to have brought together so thorough an analysis of the technical literature.
In the final section dealing with conclusions and future developments, an analysis is given of experience to date. It stresses the pre-control studies that should be made, the necessity for realistic cost estimates, the limitations in spraying which is not a cure-all or complete substitute for other methods, and the limitations of aircraft in spotting incipient outbreaks. Air survey does not displace ground methods. This compilation is of great value to countries which are embarking or contemplating undertaking forest insect control operations.
· The forest policy of the United Kingdom aims at establishing, largely by means of new plantations, a woodland area of 6 million acres (2 million ha.), capable of supplying in normal times one third of the country's needs while forming a reserve available for emergencies.
An important problem arises in regard to the organization of the home market for the timber which is now being offered from plantations to consumers in increasing quantities. There must be a market for the timber, especially small-sized timber, derived from the thinning of plantations, the successful disposing of which is not always easy. But the home market is dominated and will continue to be dominated by the import trade from abroad. However, the Forestry Commission can also exercise a marked influence and must do so. Otherwise the private owners, on whom the implementation of the planting program partly depends, will be faced with problems which, if unsolved, would seriously discourage them, despite the efforts of the Forestry Commission to promote their cooperation, and favorable legislation.
In May 1964, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Secretary of State for Scotland appointed a Committee on the Marketing of Woodland Produce which, in May 1966, submitted to the Forestry Commission a well-considered report that has recently been published.
The Committee reached the conclusion that "in spite of the competition of alternative materials, the total demand for timber and its products is far in excess of home production, both present and potential". The solution of the problem finding outlets for home-grown timber must therefore be sought essentially in the organization of the owners and the market.
The Committee suggests:
1. The organization of an affective association of private forest owners. The association would be voluntary, but would seek to group all owners, large and small. It could have national sections for England, Scotland and Wales. Local branches would represent in their respective areas the interests of private owners against all other interests. The association would cover the whole field of forestry, from marketing and the sale of products to technical assistance to its members, including the supply of labor and equipment. (There are already some co-operative forestry associations in the United Kingdom, but their objectives and the limited number of their members prevent them from having any effective influence on the home market, despite the great services they certainly otherwise render.)2. The establishment of a central advisory body comprising not only representatives of the Forestry Commission, of private owners and the timber trade, but also representatives of consumer interests and some independent members. This body would deal with all matters relating to the marketing of homegrown timber. While remaining an advisory body, its authority "should be recognized to be such that in the event of a conflict with the Forestry Commission, the situation would have to be resolved by Ministers". The existing Home-Grown Timber Advisory Committee could serve as the nucleus of this new body, if its responsibilities were extended and its constitution enlarged in the desirable direction.
· The Conservation Reserve Program recently put into effect in the United States is only part of a vast agricultural and land use policy covered by the general name of the Soil Bank Program. It is defined as follows:
"The Conservation Reserve Program is a long-term program designed to carry out the policy of the act (i.e. the Soil Bank Act) by assisting farmers to divert a portion of their cropland from the production of excessive supplies of agricultural commodities, and to carry out soil, water, forest and wildlife conservation practices. In carrying out this program the Secretary (of Agriculture of the U.S.A.) will enter into contracts with producers (a) to share the costs of establishing approved conservation practices on the conservation reserve and (b) to make annual payments to such producers for maintaining the conservation uses for the term of the contract."
The lands to which the Act applies comprise all those that are used for crops, or are regularly mown or bear fodder crops and do not require annual ploughing. Their area must not be under 6 acres (2 ha.) per farm or 2 acres (0.80 ha.) if they are intended for afforestation but this limit may be reduced to I acre (0.40 ha.) in particular cases.
The goal set is to reserve for 1957, 20 million acres (8,000,000 ha.), of which 54 percent would be provided by the States of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South and North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
The Act is administered by county committees and State committees, of which representatives of the State Forest Services form part.
The duration of the contracts is for 3 or 5 years, if the county committee considers that the reserved land has already a sufficiently protective vegetative cover; for 5 and possibly 10 years, if it considers that a protective vegetative cover other than trees or shrubs should be established, or if the land is used for establishing a reservoir or carrying out soil, water or wildlife conservation practices; for 10 and possibly 16 years, if afforestation is to take place.
By this contract, the farmer or the owner of the farm undertakes
"to establish and maintain... in accordance with good farming practice... for the contract period... an approved protective vegetative cover or other approved conservation practices on the conservation reserve".
The protective vegetative cover may only be approved if it consists either of trees or shrubs or, at least in regard to the greater part, of perennial grasses and legumes suited to the site.
The Soil Conservation Service is responsible for determining, supervizing and certifying the practices carried out in fulfilment of the contract. The Forest Service, however, is responsible in regard to the establishment of trees or shrubs.
The lands covered by the contract must not produce any crop (except timber in accordance with good forestry practices) during the period of the contract. Reservoirs may not be used for irrigation outside such lands. The lands must not be grazed, save in exceptional cases.
On the other hand, each county committee determines for each farm the average area (called 'soil bank base') that, during the two years previous to the start of the contract, has been devoted to agricultural crops other than grasses or legumes grazed or used for forage or certain peas and other pulses. If this area is over 30 acres (12 ha.), the farmer must undertake for the duration of the contract not to devote to the production of the corresponding crops a larger area than the 'soil bank base', less the area put into reserve. If it is under 30 acres, he undertakes not to cultivate, for the same period, more than the 'soil bank base'.
In principle, the Federal Government contributes 80 percent of the expenses agreed upon for carrying out the conservation practices. This contribution, however, is subject to a number of limitations. For the construction of reservoirs by private persons, for instance, it may not exceed $500. Not all the expenses coming under the cost of the work entail such a contribution. The payment of the Federal contribution may be spread out as the work is carried out. The Federal contribution in money may be replaced, in part at least, by the provision of services, material or equipment from the Federal Government or State.
The farmer who has signed a contract and fulfilled its conditions, is entitled to the payment of an annual sum. This varies according to the quality and value of the land of each farm, but it is so calculated that, for each State, the average sum paid per acre corresponds to a definitely fixed figure, varying, according to the State, between $8 and $13 (the latter figure being reached only in the States of New Jersey and Connecticut). But the farmer loses the right to any payment and his contract is deemed broken, if he cultivates, for a given year, a greater area than his 'soil bank base'. Except in very special cases, the sum payable annually to each farmer is limited to $5,000.
Provisions are made for an equitable distribution, if necessary, of the sums paid by the Federal Government between owners, farmers and tenants, and in order to prevent collusion of interests.
Breaches of contract are liable to the penalty of having to pay back to the Federal Government the whole or part of the sums paid by the latter, plus interest at 6 percent.
