BUREAU OF SOILS. 489 



mately 237,619 square miles have been siirvej'ed, which, with the com- 

 pletion of the Nebraska area this summer, will give a continuous 

 strip from Canada to Mexico, with the exception of a break in mid- 

 dle Texas. It is estimated that there remains about 260,000 square 

 miles of the Great Plains country yet to be surveyed on a scale of 

 4 miles to the inch. The work so far completed embraces the western 

 parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, the 

 Panhandle of Texas, and a large area ir south Texas. There remains 

 to be completed the eastern parts of Montana, W^'^oming, Colorado, 

 New Mexico, and a large area in west Texas. By the end of the 

 present field season the reconnoissance survey of the cut-over pine 

 lands of Washington and the survey of the Appalachian Plateau 

 portion of the State of Pennsylvania will have been completed. 

 There has been considerable demand for this type of work for north- 

 ern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, but the funds available have 

 not been sufficient to take up these additional areas. 



DETAILED SUR\'EYS. 



The 12 States of Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New 

 Jersey, New York, North C»rolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, 

 Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are appropriating annu- 

 ally $47,300 to be expended in cooperation with the Bureau of Soils 

 for soil-survey work, to meet which the bureau is expending about 

 $57,000 per annum. A number of these States have signified their 

 willingness to appropriate larger fvmds whenever the bureau is in 

 position to respond and push the work more vigorously, and a num- 

 ber of other States have signified their intention to appropriate 

 money to meet the bureau in cooperative soil-survey work, and I 

 consider that it would take at least $25,000 in addition to what is 

 now being expended in the cooperating States to meet the increasing 

 demands. This form of cooperation between the States and the 

 bureau has worked very satisfactorily and has a very desirable object. 

 Not only does it insure the work being done at about half the cost 

 to the National Government, but it gives to the state officials an inti- 

 mate knowledge of the properties of their own soils that could be 

 obtained in no other way. It also gives to the bureau the benefit of 

 the local knowledge of agricultural conditions and practices that add 

 materially to the completeness and thoroughness of the work. 



There are 36 States and Territories not at present in position to 

 coo]>erate with the bureau through lack of funds, and in these States 

 the bureau is expending at the present time about $45,000 annually. 

 To meet the demands in these noncooperating States in any sort of 

 satisfactory way I estimate that the appropriation should be in- 

 creased by at least $75,000. 



This makes a total increase of $100,000 in the soil-survey funds, 

 which would provide for double the number of detailed soil surveys, 

 increasing the number of areas (counties) from 40 to 80 per annum, 

 giving about 32 areas in cooperating States and 48 areas in non- 

 cooperating States. This would necessitate an increase in the draft- 

 ing and clerical force on the statutory roll. 



