40 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



gether this knowledge from every successful farmer and make 

 it available to all the farmers of the country, we believe that 

 that will be a very helpful line of work. That is one of the 

 things that the Department is trying to do. 



Now aside from these that I have mentioned, the great 

 bureaus of the Department, we have the bureau of forest serv- 

 ice, but I notice in looking over your programme that you are 

 to have a talk on that particular subject and I shall not take 

 the time to speak of the details of the work of that department. 



Another bureau is engaged in soil surveys, and we also 

 have the bureau of entomology, the bureau of statistics, and 

 several other bureaus which I shall not mention in very great 

 detail. 



Probably you are all familiar with the work of the bureau 

 of soil surveys. One of the primary objects of that is to study 

 the soils where crops are grown, and map those soils out so 

 that a man unfamiliar with the soil may be able, by taking the 

 map, to find where certain types of soil adapted to certain plants 

 exist. This work has been going on for several years. Very 

 large areas have been mapped in all the principal crop regions 

 of the United States. Cotton soils, tobacco soils, apple soils, 

 and soils adapted to the growth of many dififerent crops have 

 been more or less studied and exactly mapped. Now this 

 brings that bureau naturally to the study of soil fertility and 

 soil cultivation, and they have given us some new suggestions 

 relative to soil fertility that I believe will be of great value. 



It is not necessary to dwell upon the work of the bureau of 

 entomology. All of you have probably heard of the work which 

 this bureau has done in connection with the boll weevil which 

 is affecting the cotton of Texas and adjoining states. When 

 the foot and mouth disease was introduced here Congress made 

 a special appropriation of $500,000 for the purpose of studying 

 and stamping out that disease. When the boll weevil came 

 up from Mexico into Texas and attacked the cotton crop, 

 threatening its destruction. Congress made another emergency 

 appropriation for the study of this pest and its control, if 

 possible. Now, unfortunately, inasmuch as we have to deal 

 with millions upon millions of these little felloAvs, extermina- 

 tion seems practically impossible, and we have been obliged 

 to turn our attention to the study of some other method besides 

 extermination in order to secure the needed protection for the 



