Circular No. 44. July, 1914. 



ISSACHUSniS AOICiTiAL EMRIMENT STATION. 



AMHERST. 



Suggestions for Judging the Agricultural 

 Value and Adaptation of Land. 



William P. Brooks. 

 A person familiar with such matters will be able to form a very 

 accurate opinion as to the productive capacity and adaptation of 

 land by examination on the spot. The knowledge that such a 

 person will be able to obtain as to the agricultural value of a piece 

 of land for any particular purpose by such examination will be 

 more exact and more reliable than the indications afforded by 

 chemical analysis. For the formation of an accurate judgment 

 considerable experience is essential, but it is hoped that the sug- 

 gestions which follow will make the matter at least sufficiently 

 clear for a fairly satisfactory estimate. Among the more impor- 

 tant factors which should be observed may be named the follow- 

 ing : 



1. The depth and color of the surface soil. 



2. The level of the water table and the conditions affecting 

 drainage. 



3. The texture of the soil. 



4. The general appearance and texture of the subsoil. 



5. The character of the natural or spontaneous vegetation. 



L The Depth and C«>lor of the Surface Soil. 



The term surface soil is commonly used to indicate that portion 

 of the topsoil which in uplands, at least, is almost always dis- 

 tinctly different in color from the soil below. In the case of soils 

 which have been plowed and cultivated it is generally used to 

 desi^ate that part of the soil which is turned over by the plow. 

 The darker in color the surface soil and the greater its depth, the 

 more productive, as a rule, the land will be found to be. The 

 usual cause of the darker color of the surface soil is the presence 

 of organic matter or humus. The larger the amount of such mat- 

 ter in upland soils, the better, for it is highly favorable to good 

 texture and productiveness. It is possible to determine the pro- 

 portion of organic matter in a soil with approximate accuracy, 

 even without laboratory facilities. The following method is sug- 

 gested : 



Take small quantities of soil to the full depth to which the sutt- 

 face soil extends in a considerable number of different places. 



