G40 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



to an unusual degree, and, under stable conditions, must always be so. 

 No island of farms, however rich, if surrounded by barrens or pauper 

 ranches can ever be so prosperous as the farm area surrounded by well 

 managed forest. 



The technique of land classification in America has been in process 

 of development since the first settlement. Originally a matter of in- 

 dividual selection of the most promising sites, need for formal survey 

 work grew apace as land legislation increased and as administrative 

 procedure under the land laws became more and more involved. The 

 rapidity with which new situations appeared and the country expanded 

 made "a. systematic classification of the entire public domain into 

 classes representing the highest use for each area" more and more im- 

 practicable, but of increasing urgency. While we have today a well- 

 established technique for the classification of coal, oil, gas, phosphate, 

 potash, water power, and reservoir sites on the public domain,^^ the 

 early passing into private hands of practically all agricultural areas was 

 largely accomplished before any adequate practice had been developed 

 for this most important of all land types. 



The acute need for dependable detailed information concerning the 

 agricultural soils long since becoming evident, the U. S. Bureau of Soils 

 was created and began its field-work, its classifications being based upon 

 arbitrary "provinces" and "types" of rather technical character.^* 



The technique of the Bureau of Soils has been modified from time to 

 time as proven inadequate, but still meets with more or less disfavor 

 among experts. ^^ While cumbersome and heavy with confusion for 

 any but an adept, it at least serves to distinguish the larger phases of 

 soil conditions and serves a most useful purpose where still more 

 accurate work ^^ is not available. For the segregation of potential farm 

 arid forest areas, however, the U. S. Bureau of Soil Survey is unsatis- 

 factory. 



As a matter of fact, no mere soil survey can serve such a purpose, 

 for the factors delimiting profitable agriculture include many items 

 other than the relative number of soil particles of specified diameter or 

 given chemical content. "It is evident immediately that such a survey 

 must concern itself with many more things than the classification of 



" U. S. G. S. Bulletin 537. 1913. 



'* U. S. D. A., Bureau of Soils, Bulletin 96, 1913 ; Lyon, Fippen, and Buckman, 

 "Soils," 1915, p. 718. 



*' Hopkins, "Soil Fertility," 1910, chaps. 9-10; Sauer, 20th Report, Michigan 

 Academy of Science, p. 8?. 



'' For 'instance, 111. Exp. Sta. Soil Rept. 18, 1918. 



