THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



231 



two months ago. The location is such 

 that results will be applicable in all of the 

 so-called 'semi-arid West,' and will un- 

 doubtedly become one of the most impor- 

 tant stations in this region. We will en- 

 deavor to solve some of the bothering 

 questions as to kinds of crops, methods of 

 cultivation, and feeding of stock; also to 

 do something along the lines of irrigation, 

 forestry and horticulture." 



AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF ILLI- 

 NOIS SOILS. 



The Agricultural Experiment Station of 

 the University of Illinois in co-operation 

 with the Bureau of Soils of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture is be- 

 ginning an agricultural survey of Illinois 

 soils. A field party, consisting of two 

 men from the Bureau of Soils and two 

 men from the Illinois Experiment Station, 

 is now at work in Tazewell county. In 

 conducting the survey the ground is gone 

 over carefully and the soil is examined to 

 a depth of from three to six feet, samples 

 being obtained by boring with augers. 

 Soil maps will be made which will show 

 the area and location of all of the differ- 

 ent important types, or classes, of soil in 

 the land surveyed. The Experiment Sta- 

 tion will follow up the work of surveying 

 by collecting and analyzing representa- 

 tive samples of soil from each of the dif- 

 ferent types which are found in large 

 areas. As far as possible the Experiment 

 Station will also locate experiment fields 

 upon the most important types of soil and 

 conduct investigations by actual trial upon 

 the field to determine what kind of treat- 

 ment each type of soil should receive to 

 insure the maintenance or increase of its 

 fertility and the improvement of its pro- 

 ductive capacity. 



The results of analysis and experiment- 

 ation, together with the soil maps will 



finally be published in the form of Ex- 

 periment Station bulletins. It is believed 

 that about 1,000 square miles of Illinois 

 land can be surveyed this season. About 

 half of this will be in Tazewell county, in 

 the north central part of the state, and 

 the other half in Clinton and St. Clair 

 counties in Southern Illinois. Those lo- 

 calities are selected by the Experiment 

 Station because they contain several dis- 

 tinctly different types of soil which are be- 

 lieved to be representative of large areas 

 in the state. A special circular to the 

 press will be issued in a few days giving 

 more complete information relating to the 

 matter of soil investigations. 



CUBA'S AGRICULTURAL RE- 

 SOURCES. 



The Island of Cuba is a gigantic farm 

 of 28,000,000 acres of marvelously fertile 

 soil. Thirteen million acres remain as 

 virgin forest. Her present population is 

 a little over 1,550,000. Were Cuba as 

 densely populated as Massachusetts, her 

 census would show 11.000.000 inhabitants. 

 An equal density with that of England 

 would give her upward of 22,000,000. Her 

 ability to support a population per square 

 mile equivalent to that of England, so 

 large a percentage of which is dependent 

 upon manufacturing, is somewhat doubt- 

 ful, from the fact that Cuba presents little 

 or no possibility of ever becoming a manu- 

 facturing center. In a measure, the com- 

 parison with Massachusetts is also faulty, 

 for the same reason. Yet, in the latter 

 case, the vastly greater fertility of Cuban 

 soil would offset the manufacturing feature, 

 and there is little doubt that Cuba, along 

 the lines of her particular agricultural ad- 

 vantages, can provide a comfortable and 

 reasonably profitable living for a popula- 

 tion of 10,000,000 of moderately indus- 

 trious citizens. 



