288 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The Soil 8ui-\ey is coiUributiiiir its share to the development of 

 American agriculture by placing; in the hands of the people detailed 

 knowledo-e of the soils of the country. This work is fundamental in 

 chat'acter, its ^■al^e in tliis respect is clearly recop;nized. and the de- 

 mands for it are increasin<i' far beyond the ability of the bureau to 

 meet them with its i)resent limited resources. These demands come 

 from many different interests. Prominent among them are the re- 

 quests from devel()|iment comjianies interested in opening large 

 tracts of cut-over land to settlement. Exact information about the 

 soils and the general character of crops that can be grown is wanted 

 at once to assist the neAV settlers in making the right start. Such 

 knoAvledge frequently saves years of experimental work. There is 

 also an increasing demand for soil surveys from investigators work- 

 ing in almost every field of scientific agriculture. The requests for 

 surveys from county farm advisers and extension-service directors 

 have been especially numerous and insistent. The peculiarities, or 

 the individuality, of our various soils must be taken into account if 

 we are to make i)i'ogress in plant breeding and selection, in fertilizer 

 practice, in cultivation — in fact, in all work looking to the improve- 

 ment of cnlti\ ated crops. The soil-survey work is thus the basis for 

 planning and experimentation of the various activities of the agri- 

 cultural experiment stations, and farms and experimental plots for 

 varietal and fertilizer tests are being established on the large and 

 important soil types of the United States. 



The introduction of agricultural instruction in common schools as 

 well as high schools and the extension of agricultural schools has 

 created a demand for knowledge of the soils and of general agricul- 

 tural conditions of the country contained in the soil-survey reports. 

 In manv of the colleges regular courses in soil surveying have been 

 established. 



Most of the work of the Soil SurA'ey is carried on in cooperation 

 with State organizations, such as agricultural colleges, experiment 

 stations, departments of agriculture, and geological surveys. During 

 the fiscal year the following States contributed funds to help carry 

 on the work: Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho. In- 

 diana, Iowa, Kentuck}-. Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi. Mis- 

 souri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North 

 Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, 

 Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. It is a significant fact 

 that during tlie rush of war work the States continued their coopera- 

 tion in the soil survey with nearl}' undiminished vigor, recognizing 

 this to be a fundamental basis for their experiments and develop- 

 ment activities to meet the war conditions as well as to prepare for 

 peace conditions. The bureau has been unable with its limited appro- 

 priation to meet fully the demands of the States for cooperative work 

 and to meet cooperation in new States and has had to curtail opera- 

 tions in States that have heretofore been cooperating. 



Besides the State cooperation, the bureau cooperated with the War 

 Department with a view to determining the value of land taken for 

 camp sites, with the Office of Indian Affairs, and with the Reclama- 

 tion Service of the Department of the Interior. About the usual 

 amount of work was done in cooperation with the several bureaus 

 of the department. 



