REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



Bureau of Soils, 

 Washington,, D. 6'., September IS, 1019. 



Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report covering the 

 operations of the Bureau of Soils for the fiscal year ended June 30, 

 191!). 



Respectfully, Milton Whitney, 



Chief of Bureau. 

 Hon. D. F. Houston, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



SOIL SURVEY. 



Tlie war did not make itself felt in a decrease of the work done 

 by the Soil Survey before the spring of 1918. With no increase in 

 the field staff the area covered in 1918 was greater than the year 

 before. In 1919 the effect of the war was shown in a decreased area 

 covered, which was a little more than 4.000 square miles less than 

 the area covered in 1918. During the closing months of the fiscal 

 year 1918 many members of the field staff entered the military serv- 

 ice, reducing the effective force to about two-thirds its normal 

 strength, at Avhich point it was with difficulty maintained during 

 the greater part of 1919. 



Detail surveys were made during the year in 27 States, In 22 

 of these the work was done in active cooperation Avith State or- 

 ganizations. The area covered in these States amounted to 27,456 

 square miles. In five States 4,532 square miles of noncooperative 

 woik was done, the percentage of such work being slightly higher 

 during 1919 than 1918. The total area surveyed in detail during 

 the year was 33,988 square miles. 



Reconnoissance soil mapping was confined during the year to one 

 area in the High Plains section of weslcrn Texas. This area com- 

 prised territory of an extent of 6,085 square miles. 



The total area covered by detailed surveys in continental United 

 States up to June 30, 1919, amounted to 517,940 square miles. 



The following tables give in detail statistics covering the opera- 

 tions for the last year and also a summary statement of the area sur- 

 veyed from the beginning of tlie work in 1899 to date. 



Xotwithstanding the fact that the work of the Soil Survey is not 

 directly concerned with production and that no funds were received 

 from the emergency appropriation, a certain amount of work bearing 

 on tlie prosecution of the Avar Avas done at the request of the War 

 Department in connection Avith the constructing of the ]:)rogressive 

 militar}^ map of the United States. In large areas of the Coastal 

 Plain section of the United States the base maps prepared by the 

 Soil Survey Avere the most reliable maps in existence. All of the 

 published maps of this region Avcre used by the War Department 

 and the base-map information contained in unpublished soil maps 

 Avas compiled and turned over to the Corps of Engineers. In ad- 



235 



