DEPARTMENT OF SOILS. 



I. TEACHING. 



During the past year, 499 credit hours of instruction have been 

 given in undergraduate course in Soils, and the equivalent of 59 

 credit hours have been given to graduate students in advanced 

 work ; of the former, 365 hours were in the fundamental courses 

 open to regular and special students and required for admission 

 to all other courses in the Department. Eight courses were 

 given with an aggregate credit of 18 hours, of which the funda- 

 mental courses embrace 6 hours. 



At the beginning of the year, the laboratory quarters of the 

 Department were shifted from the north end, first floor, of the 

 Agronomy building to the south basement of the same building, 

 where new fixtures were installed. The new quarters double the 

 capacity of the Department in addition to giving more commodious 

 rooms for storage and preparation. But much is still needed to 

 render them adequate, as will be noted lattr. 



II. INVESTIGATION. 



The primary energies of the department have been required by 

 the teaching and extension work. 



(a) The study of the principles of soil granulation has been 

 continued in the laboratory and previously obtained results checked 

 and extended. This phase of the study is nearly completed and 

 the remaining investigations require much larger facilities in 

 greenhouse and field than are now available. 



(b) Study has been continued of the moisture capacity of soils, 

 of the moisture equivalent of soils, and of the lateral transfer of 

 soil moisture. 



III. EXTENSION. 



The extension activities have embraced five lines : 



(a) Surveys. — Soil surveys in cooperation with the United 



States Bureau of Soils have been continued. The College has 



maintained two men in the field for four months of the summer 



of 1909, who have worked in conjunction with the same number 



