Mapp'iiKj Solh and Alkali. 13 



111 such cases you ?iYe c&ni\oi\Qd.not to pay the claim^ but to refer the 

 matter to this Department; payment of such claim by you would 

 constitute x)rima facie evidence that the accident was due to care- 

 lessness on your part, and the matter could not then be handled 

 by the Department. Should the horse be taken sick, or if an 

 unforeseen and unavoidable accident should occur to either horse 

 or vehicle while in the employ of the Department, claim should 

 be made, accompanied by affidavits, properly sworn to, setting 

 forth all the facts of the case and substantiated in every possible 

 way by disinterested witnesses. 



The greatest care is enjoined upon all representatives of the Bureau 

 in the care of teams and in their safe delivery to owners after use. 



Settlement of claims of this kind through Congress are very 

 troublesome and tedious, and they should not be presented to the 

 Department if it is possible to avoid it, and then not unless it 

 involves considerable money and is accompanied by strong and 

 irrefutable evidence that the Department agent is not responsible. 

 Such claims will be scrutinized very carefully before being acted 

 upon by this Department. 



Six-months' reports. — On the 1st of July and 1st of January of 

 each year a report upon Form Xo. 41 of this Bureau should be 

 made out by each assistant in charge of party and forwarded to the 

 Chief of the Bureau. This report shows the area surveyed in each 

 district, the cost per square mile, and the actual time given to the 

 survey. In order that assistants may make out this report, mem- 

 orandums should 1)6 kept of all expenses. In calculating cost of 

 work include salaries, subsistence Avhile in the area, and team hire, 

 with any necessary miscellaneous expenses. Transportation ex- 

 penses (which include railroad fare, sleeping-car fare, meals en 

 route, etc. ) should not be included in calculating cost per square 

 mile. The salary should also only be calculated for the time 

 actually spent in the area. 



INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAPPING SOILS AND ALKALI. 



Organization of field party. — A field party in the soil survey 

 usually consists of two men — an assistant in charge of party and 

 a field assistant. The assistant in charge of party shall control all 

 field work of the party, prepare the report and maps, carry on 



