DIVISION OF SOILS. 81 



SCIENTIFIC AIDS. 



It has been necessary from the first to take younir men into the 

 Division and train them for the more responsible positions. There are 

 no courses in any of the universities or colleges that Avould train a 

 man for the particular lines which are being developed in the soil 

 survey of the Division of Soils. This is so to a greater or lesser 

 <'xtent in most of the Divisions of the Department, but particularly 

 so in the Division of Soils, where the Avork and methods have been 

 carried far bej^ond the conventional lines taught in the college courses 

 of to-day. The policy recently inaugurated in bringing j^oung men 

 in through the civil service as scientific aids has worked admirably 

 in the case of this Division. As I believe we will constantly need to 

 be training young men for the more responsible i30sitions in this 

 Division, I have recommended that six scientific aids be added to the 

 statutory roll of the Division, so that we may have constantly that 

 many young men in training. The Division must look out not only 

 for an efficient force for its own work, but to train men for other 

 responsible positions in the universities, colleges, and experiment 

 stations of the country, so that the work inaugurated by the Division 

 may be intelligently carried on in more detail by local institutions. 



ADDITIONAL ROOM NEEDED. 



The work of the Division has grown so much in the past two or 

 three years and the force has been increased to such an extent that 

 the available room in the buildiug rented for its use is much too small 

 to accommodate the present force, not to speak of the proi)osed 

 increase. I have been compelled, therefore, to ask for an increase 

 in the allotment for the rent of an additional building for this pur- 

 pose. If this increase be granted b}^ Congress, I would j)ropose, with 

 your permission, to rent an additional building somewhere in the 

 neighborhood where adequate accommodations could be had, par- 

 ticularly for the field force, which has to be j)rovided for during the 

 winter months, when the members are working over their notes and 

 preparing reports and maps. This is very urgently needed. 



CLERICAL WORK. 



The publications of the Division during the fiscal year consist of 

 one bulletin, five reports, five circulars, tAvo articles for the Depart- 

 ment Yearbook, and a list of publications of the DiA'ision, aggregating 

 in all 558 printed jjages, Avhich is a considerable increase oa er last 

 year. The correspondence has also increased considerably. ScA'en 

 hundred and fourteen samples AA^ere added to the soil collection, 

 Avhich amounts now to 4,758 samples, all of which are A^ery carefully 

 described on catalogue cards. During the year also the photographic 

 negatiA'es pertaining to the Avork of the DiA'ision and to soil problems 

 in general, amounting to 455 in number, haAC been couA^eniently 

 arranged and catalogued, so that they are readily accessible. The 

 special library on soil literature, maintained for the immediate use 

 of the DiA'ision force, contains now 1,640 books and bound f>ami3hlets. 



AGR 1900 G 



