DIVISION OF SOILS. 71 



ol' ciboiil 250 square miles will be surveyed. Very excelleut couuly 

 maps, oil a scale of 3 iuelies to the mile, were available for use here, 

 and very careful detailed work is being done. It is too early yet to 

 speak of the results of this Avork. 



The Bonsteel party . — About the middle of May work was commenced, 

 in cooi3eration with the Maryland geological survey, in the survey and 

 mapping of the soils of St. Mary County, Md. Very fair topographic 

 sheets of the United States Geological Survey were available for base 

 maps; and, as the soils in this locality follow the topographic features 

 quite closely, the work has progressed very rapidly and very satisfac- 

 torily. There are soils here which compare in j)roductiveness with 

 some of the soils of Lancaster County, Pa. Wheat yields 20 to 25 

 bushels per acre, clover does very well indeed, and grass does fairly 

 well; yet the lands in Lancaster County are worth from $125 to $250 

 an acre, while these southern Maryland lands are worth only from $3 

 to $10. The discussion of the actual conditions in each district which 

 have any bearing upon this will be brought out in the reports by these 

 field parties, and it is hoped that it may contribute something of value 

 to this all-important problem of the deterioration of lands and fall in 

 land values in so many parts of the country. 



The Smith party. — Early in May a survey was undertaken, in co- 

 operation with the jSTorth Carolina department of agriculture and the 

 North Carolina geological survey, of a strip of land about 10 miles wide, 

 extending from Raleigh, upon the Piedmont Plateau in the crystalline 

 rocks, down through Goldsboro, to Newbern in the coastal plains, a 

 distance of about 120 miles. There were no accurate maps available, 

 so a party of traverse men were put in the field and traverse maps 

 were prepared in advance of the soil party. The work has not pro- 

 gressed far enough to report as to the results, but it seems to be 

 progressing very satisfactorily. This strip crosses some of the best 

 cotton soils of the State, the bright-tobacco belt, and the truck area. 

 The North Carolina department of agriculture intends to follow this 

 uj) by studying the needs and best treatment of the several types of 

 soil established by this survey. 



COOPERATION WITH STATE INSTITUTIONS. 



The cooperation between the Division of Soils, State experiment 

 stations, boards of agriculture, and geological surveys has been very 

 cordial and mutually helpful. In order to facilitate and extend the 

 work the States of Mainland, Louisiana, North Carolina, L^tah, and 

 the Territory of Arizona contributed to the expenses o^ the soil sur- 

 vey, general field reconnoissance, and laboratory investigations as 

 carried on under my direction. The total aitiount so contributed 

 during the year was $3, 500. 



PUBLISHED RESULTS OF THE SEASON'S WORK. 



The field work and the laboratory work which has any bearing upon 

 tlie soil survey for the season of 1899 were covered in Report No. 64, 

 which was transmitted to Congress by the President on February 5, 

 1900. It took quite four months to get the reports and maps prepared 

 and material in shape for presentation, and, even after Congress had 

 authorized the publication, it required a long time for the lithographic 

 work on the maps accompanying the report. This accounts for the 

 fact that the report was not issued until September, or about one year 



