500 ANNUAL EEPOETS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Minnesota. It is gratifying to be able to record here that this work 

 has the approval and cooperation of the manufacturers of concrete 

 tile in Minnesota. A marked improvement in the quality of com- 

 mercial tile put out is already apparent. 



A preliminary survey of the concrete-alkali situation in the South- 

 eastern States was also made during the year. Further work in this 

 section is planned. 



One of the greatest problems of the individual farmer and of 

 agricultural communities is soil erosion. The rich top soil, the loss of 

 which from his field the farmer mourns to-day, is to-morrow the bane 

 of his neighbor. In past years the bureau has given considerable 

 study to surface erosion and gullying, the by-products of which 

 present community problems that yearly are becoming more serious. 

 The soil washed from thousands of cultivated fields ultimately is 

 deposited in the large drainage outlets, often constructed at great 

 expense, and decreases their efficiency. Until this problem ghall be 

 solved at its source, which is the farmer's field, communities will be 

 put to large expense to maintain their drainage outlets. A number 

 of methods of preventing and controlling gullies have been found to 

 give good results, and these have been presented in the bulletin 

 Gullies — How to Control and Reclaim Them. 



The use of sedimentation basins to overcome the deposition of 

 material in stream beds promises some success. These basins are 

 made by diking off areas of flat land where the silt-laden tributaries 

 debouch from the hills. The spreading out of the water in these 

 diked areas results in a reduction of velocity and a deposition of at 

 least a part of the silt. For three years the bureau has followed the 

 action of a number of these Ijasins in the Middle West. Measure- 

 ments have been made of the rate of filling, the character of the 

 deposited material has been noted, and beneficial effects on the 

 stream below recorded. The problem is a complex one, but as a 

 result of the study — to be continued over a number of years — ^the 

 bureau expects to be able to make definite recommendations with 

 regard to sedimentation basins that will be of great value. 



Extension work in farm drainage is conducted in cooperation with 

 the State extension services. In some States formal cooperative 

 agreements are operative. In others, where the bureau has no drain- 

 age representative, each project is handled individually with the ex- 

 tension service. During the last fiscal year regular estension agree- 

 ments were in effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, 

 Tennessee, and West Virginia. The work consisted mostly of in- 

 dividual assistance given to farmers in connection with tile drainage 

 and terracing layouts. 



Mention should be made of assistance rendered drainage districts 

 whose plans have been submitted to the bureau for review. Sugges- 

 tions relating to such plans have been instrumental in saving thou- 

 sands of dollars to the affected landowners. 



FARM ENGINEERING INVESTIGATIONS. 



As the work of the bureau in connection with the investigation of 

 farm engineering problems has become more widely known to the 

 public the requests for information and assistance from farmers and 

 others have been received in such numbers as to occupy the greater 



