SELECTION OF FARM 



this direction, it should be supplemented 

 wherever possible by a study of the soil sur- 

 veys of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture wherever these are available. 

 When this is not possible samples of soil 

 may be submitted to the Bureau of Soils of 

 the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture or to the soil division of the state ex- 

 periment station, together with a suitable 

 description and such knowledge of the his- 

 tory of the land as is obtainable. In this 

 way you may obtain information as to the 

 natural adaptation of the particular type 

 of soil. 



There will still remain the question of 

 the present condition of the land. For ex- 

 ample, the Pennsylvania station obtained in 

 a certain season 42 loads of hay from nine 

 acres of land. The same season, from exactly 

 the same soil type, the station obtained eight 

 loads of hay from 20 acres. The condition 

 of the soil was different, which the previous 

 history of the two tracts of land fully 

 explains. 



It is of the utmost importance, therefore, 



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