The crops Vermont farmers grow also need the rich nutrients (food for plants) found in the top layer of soil. When deforestation takes place layers of rich top soil wash away when it rains. This is called erosion.

How do roots help stop erosion?                               http://www.ecokids.ca/

In the 1860s many Vermonters had to leave their farms because soil erosion stopped them from growing food to sell and eat. A lot of people became very poor. Some Vermonters began to notice that cutting down so many trees was causing problems. One man named George Perkins Marsh wrote a book about it.

What did Mr. Marsh try to explain in his book?              http://henrysheldonmuseum.org/