No. 123.] REPORT OF COMMISSIONER. 27 



Soil Surveys. 



An appropriation of $5,000 was made by the Legislature of 

 1919 for soil survey work this year. Assistance of the United 

 States government was obtained and two expert soil survey men 

 were sent up here by the government. The Department has 

 furnished two assistants in this work as well as two automo- 

 biles. Work was begun late in May in Bristol County and this 

 was finished in September, when both parties went into Barn- 

 stable County and finished it late in October. Considerable data 

 regarding the agricultural features of the county were gathered, 

 and it is hoped to put these data in such shape that they 

 will be readily available. Soil surveys, while technically valu- 

 able, are of little use to the farmer or would-be settler unless 

 they are translated into practical language. It would therefore 

 be advisable to make an additional survey of each county in 

 connection with this work, with the special purpose of getting 

 such definite agricultural data together which can be published 

 in a bulletin of each county, this being used particularly to as- 

 sist in advertising the section in other parts of the country. 



Soil surveys should go on until the whole State is covered, for 

 this i-s only one step in a State-wide plan which we need in 

 order to bring into full use all the resources of the State. Soil 

 surveys are not only valuable to the farmer and land purchaser 

 but to the forester as well, and the work has the added value of 

 making it possible to compare different parts of the country 

 where land similar to ours is being developed with crops which 

 we had not thought of raising on such land here. 



It is recommended that a larger appropriation be made this 

 year in order that a larger area may be covered next summer, 

 and it would be advisable to employ at least one experienced 

 m.an in the field and for publication work as well, preparing the 

 data gathered in the summer. 



Farmers' Institutes. 

 The department was called upon to furnish speakers for 53 

 institutes, or 56 sessions, at a cost of $876.02, This figure does 

 not include the cost of the speakers of the union agricultural 

 meeting, which amounted to $785.98. Twenty of the institute 

 lectures were on general agriculture, 8 on dairying, 7 on sheep. 



