12 



These experiments are still being carried on, in the hope of establish- 

 ing the industry on a firm commercial basis. 



The Bureau has been of considerable assistance to the tobacco indus- 

 try in Ohio and Pennsylvania through its introduction and practical 

 demonstration of the advantages of the " bulk" method of fermentation. 

 Serious loss from the ravages of a fungus growth, called "black rot," 

 which frequently resulted from the practice of "case" fermenting that 

 is, packing the tobacco in wooden boxes and storing it in a warehouse for 

 several months led to a demand for a better method of fermenting 

 tobacco. This was found in the "bulk" method, in which the tobacco 

 is built up on the warehouse floor into large piles, which are torn down 

 and rebuilt whenever the fermentation goes on too rapidly. During 

 the season of 1904 10,208,000 pounds of tobacco was fermented in 

 Ohio under the direction of the Bureau, w r ith no loss from black rot. 



Continued demand has been made upon the Bureau to assist the 

 growers of the heavy export types of tobacco used in making plug 

 tobacco and cut tobacco for pipe smoking. A 5-acre experimental 

 farm has been established in Apponiattox County, Va., where differ- 

 ent fertilizers and methods of culture are being tried to determine 

 which will give the best returns to the growers. It is the intention of 

 the Bureau to extend this work in the future to the other States where 

 these heavy export tobaccos are produced. 



RECLAMATION OF ALKALI LAND. 



Another special problem is found in the alkali conditions of the arid 

 West. The rise and accumulation of alkali has been one of the most 

 threatening and least understood of the problems confronting the irri- 

 gation farmer. There are areas in the West where land Has been ren- 

 dered unfit for crops after having been cultivated for over twenty 

 years. Land which once sold for $300 an acre is now practically 

 worthless. How to prevent the accumulation of alkali in areas not yet 

 damaged, and how to reclaim those that have been injured, is a ques- 

 tion the answer to which is eagerly sought. 



The presence of alkali is due primarily to the climatic conditions of 

 the West. The soils of the Eastern States have had the salts which 

 they originally contained washed or leached out by the annual rains. 

 The soils of the arid regions of the West, not having undergone this 

 leaching process in the same degree as the eastern soils, contain a large 

 part of the salts which were present in the rocks from which the soils 

 are derived. Usually alkali does not appear in an irrigated district 

 until cultivation has been practiced for a number of years. The sub- 

 stances composing the alkali ma} 7 be present in the soil before the 

 application of the water, or they may be brought in by the irrigation 

 waters. In hot dry weather, after rains or irrigation, the alkali 



