15 



SOIL MANAGEMENT. 



Possibilities for improvement in agricultural methods or for the 

 introduction of new crops in an area are constantly presenting them- 

 selves to the parties who make the soil surveys. The mere statement 

 in the soil survey reports that certain methods should be adopted or 

 certain crops be grown is not always enough to induce the farmers in 

 the area to make a change in their practices. Practical field demon- 

 stration seems to be the best way of impressing these lessons upon the 

 farming class. 



A division of soil management has been organized to meet this 

 demand for field demonstration of the practicability of the recommen- 

 dations contained in the Bureau's reports. 



Before carrying on this work in the field preliminary work in the 

 laboratory has been undertaken. A satisfactory method for examin- 

 ing soils in their relation to plant growth has been devised, consisting 

 in growing plants for a period of from three to four weeks in small 

 wire baskets which are completely covered with paraffin on the bottom 

 and sides and sealed on the top, so that the loss of moisture from the 

 .soil must take place through the leaves of the plants. The rate at 

 which moisture is given off from the leaf surface is taken as an indica- 

 tion of the rate of growth, although the weight of plants is also ascer- 

 tained at the close of the experiment and the latter is used in the final 

 results. By this method a large number of soils, or one soil under a 

 variety of conditions, can be examined in a comparatively short period 

 of time. It is proposed to use the results of these preliminary tests 

 as a guide for experimental work in the field. During the season of 

 1905 it is expected that four or five parties will be sent into the field 

 to test the accuracy of this preliminary method on small tracts of land. 



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