348 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



of product. So complex are all these conditions and so indeterminate 

 their individual or combined influence on the crop that no exact ex- 

 pression can be given for the climatology of any particular locality. 



While it is not possible as yet to give an expression to meteor- 

 ological data which will be a sufficient guide to crop characteristics, 

 it is possible by careful observations of crops and native vegetation 

 to form very accurate estimates of crop possibilities and to define 

 areas in which certain crops having certain qualities can be pro- 

 duced. Such an area as the tobacco area of the Connecticut Valley 

 is a case in point; also areas producing sugar beets, sweet corn and 

 some varieties of fruits. There are special localities where grapes are 

 known to do exceptionally well. The Albemarle pippin, which 

 grows best on one particular soil, takes on its highest color only 

 when grown on this soil in sheltered coves between certain elevations 

 in the Blue Ridge Mountains. 



The farmers of the United States spend vast sums of money 

 each year in trying to find out whether a particular fruit, vegetable, 

 or cereal will or will not thrive in localities where it has not been 

 tested. Most of these experiments result in disappointment and pe- 

 cuniary loss. It makes little difference whether the crop experi- 

 mented with comes from the remotest parts of the earth or from a 

 neighboring State, the result is essentially the same, for the main 

 cost is the labor of cultivation and use of the land. If the crop 

 happens to be one that requires a period of years for the test, the 

 loss from its failure is proportionately great. 



The cause of failure in the great majority of cases is climatic 

 unfitness. The quantity, distribution, or interrelation of heat and 

 moisture may be at fault. Thus, while the total quantity of heat 

 may be adequate, the moisture may be inadequate, or the moisture 

 may be adequate and the heat inadequate, or the quantities of heat 

 and moisture may be too great or too small with respect to one an- 

 other or to the time of year, and so on. What the farmer wants to 

 know is how to tell in advance whether the climatic conditions on 

 his farm are fit or unfit for the particular crop he has in view, and 

 what crops he can raise with reasonable certainty. It requires no 

 argument to show that the answers to these questions would be 

 worth in the aggregate hundreds of thousands yearly to the Amer- 

 ican farmer. (Y. B. 1897; Bu. of Soils B. 55.) 



Utilization of Soils. The art of soil management is to so 

 manipulate and handle 4,000,000 pounds of raw material the 

 weight of soil 1 foot deep on an acre at an average cost of $10 

 or $12 as to produce the greatest quantity of food and clothing 

 and still leave the soil unimpaired for future generations. The 

 highest art is usually ascribed to the individual who secures the 

 greatest net returns in money or the best grade of product. The 

 best chance of attaining the highest art is in the long run in the 

 hands of the man who has a thorough understanding of the nature 

 of the soil and how to handle it, of the crops adapted to it and 

 their needs, and of the market demands; in other words, who can 



