Corn Growers' Association. 195 



the first and most important subject of the soil survey is to de- 

 termine the particular type and distribution of soils so that we 

 can adapt our crops and our varieties of crops to each soil. We 

 have found in the south that the variety of cotton that is adapted 

 to a particular type of bottom land, that in such a location will 

 grow normally and produce a bale of cotton to the acre, if planted 

 on upland out of its environment, goes to pieces, fails to produce 

 the yield of lint that we have a right to expect from the history 

 of its production in the past. We find that the crop that has 

 adapted itself, through selection and breeding, to the uplands, until 

 it will produce a bale of cotton to the acre on what we call a Nor- 

 folk sand, goes all to pieces on the uncongenial, unrelated condi- 

 tions in the soils of the bottom land. That fact has made a differ- 

 ence of $20 an acre for some of the farmers of the south, who are 

 working out this one simple problem of adapting the type of cot- 

 ton to the particular type of soil which they possess. 



WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THE SOIL SURVEY.? 



The work of the Bureau, throughout the United States, has 

 brought us in touch with so many illustrations of this kind, so 

 many opportunities of adapting a soil to a crop or to a variety of 

 crops, that it would weary you to hear of the number of cases. 



In any soil that you take up, in any locality to which you go, 

 the question presents itself — what is the value of the soil survey? 

 Professor Marbut, when any one asks you what is the value of the 

 soil survey, ask them what they are proposing to do with their 

 soils; if they are satisfied with their soils and what they are do- 

 ing, then the soil survey is of no value. But we have never been 

 less satisfied with all the progress we are making, the farmers of 

 this country have never been less satisfied than they are today 

 with what they are doing with their soils. 



Twelve years ago, when Secretary Wilson wrote his first an- 

 nual report to the President, he gave the value of the farm crop^ 

 of the United States as three thousand million dollars — three bil- 

 lion dollars. This last month, when he wrote his twelfth annual 

 report, the value of the farm cops of the United States was eight 

 billion dollars. That one man has seen the growth of the farm 

 crops of this country in his one administration of twelve years ad- 

 vance from three billion to eight billion dollars. The people are 

 not satisfied. We are doing better and better. We are doing bet- 

 ter every year, and each individual to keep up with the procession 



