476 ANNUAL EEPOETS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



dropped so low that no profits could be made. In this case, by four 

 years of intelligent management, the yields were doubled and the net 

 returns per acre increased to almost $40. 



LOGGED-OFF LANDS. 



Further studies have been made on the economic conditions under 

 which farms are being cleared from logged-off lands. Owing to 

 the fact that no appropriation for the continuation of this work was 

 made by the last Congress, this report marks the close of the project. 



HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTION OF FARM ENTERPRISES. 



The principal work of this section has been in connection with the 

 Atlas of American Agriculture. Chapters on frost and precipita- 

 tion have been sent to the printer, one map of precipitation in the 

 United States has been issued as an advance sheet, and a map of 

 the topography of the United States in black and white, with alti- 

 tudinal tints, and chapters on cotton and on rural population have 

 been submitted for publication. The following will be ready in a 

 short time for publication: Chapters on wheat, corn, sheep in the 

 United States, and land tenure, as well as the section on seasonal 

 distribution of labor. Other bureaus working cooperatively on the 

 atlas have contributed the following : A chapter on native vegetation 

 in the United States, with a detailed map, by the Forest Service and 

 the Bureau of Plant Industry ; a chapter on grain storage, by the Bu- 

 reau of Markets; also a map showing the agricultural regions of the 

 United States has been prepared in the office, and text to accom- 

 pany it has been prepared by a member of the faculty of the Uni- 

 versity of Cincinnati. Considerable progress has been made in the 

 preparation of the chapters on dairy cows and on horses and mules. 

 Maps showing the seasonal distribution of farm labor for rye, hay, 

 and truck crops have been drawn once, but most have required revi- 

 sion. During the summer half of the wheat maps were put into final 

 form; many of the corn maps were finished; rye dates were partially 

 entered : and a small start was made on the truck-crop section. 



In addition to the work on the atlas four bulletins have been offered 

 for publication. 



In connection with the farm labor emergenc}^ the following have 

 been furnished: 



For the Dej>artmenf of Lahor. — United States maps showing the 

 average dates when harvest of winter wheat begins and becomes gen- 

 eral, when harvest of spring oats begins, and when harvest of spring 

 wheat begins. Each week copies of maps were furnished showing 

 the progress of the wheat and oats harvest in 1917. 



For farm help specialists and State lahor commissioners. — Harvest 

 maps of winter wheat, spring oats, and spring wheat were supplied 

 for twenty-six States. These maps showed by counties the average 

 and extreme reported dates of harvest, the 1910 acreages by counties, 

 and a comparison of the 1910 with the 1917 State total acreages of 

 the crops represented. Similar barley and corn maps were made for 

 Minnesota and corn maps for New Jersey. In addition, a number of 

 special maps were made for different agencies. 



A number of wheat-seeding calendar maps, showing the best time 

 for seeding winter wheat, have been prepared and sent to experiment 



