Forest and Stream, October 23, 1873

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Natural resources -- Conservation - Soil

Professor Uhler, chairman of the committee appointed to investigate the causes of the disappearances of fish from Maryland waters, reports that all the rivers in the State are gradually filling with mud and sediment, carried into them from the cultivated soil by the rain and freshets. Rivers and mouths of rivers which less than fifteen years ago were navigable by large ships, can now barely accommodate small boats. The only remedy, according to Professor Uhler, is to require the farmers whose lands border on the rivers to plant grass and vines alongside the shore to prevent the freshets from washing away the soil. [p.173]