REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. XLVII 



been damaged } r et, but there is alkali in the subsoil which may rise to 

 the surface in low places. Excessive amounts of Avater for irrigation 

 are constantly being- used, and the subsoil is rapidly filling with seep- 

 age water. If this rise of subsoil water goes on much longer lands 

 will suffer. Only a small percentage of the available land is irrigated 

 at present, and it is hoped that the dangers of overirrigation may be 

 shown so clearly that land which is now threatened may be saved. 



EASTERN DIVISION. 



Results in Pennsylvania. — During the fiscal year the surve}^ of Lan- 

 caster area, 270 square miles, started during the latter part of the 

 previous year, was completed. Lancaster County was selected for the 

 work, as it is an important tobacco-producing section, that it might 

 serve as a basis for the experiments on the improvement of the Penn- 

 sylvania tobacco and the introduction of the Cuban type of filler leaf. 

 The area surveyed consists of a broad limestone valley, with sandstone 

 and shale ridges of sedimentary rock, and, in the southern part, of the 

 Piedmont plateau of crystalline rocks. The difference in the commer- 

 cial value of the eight types of soil established is very great. The best 

 limestone lands are worth from $125 to $250 an acre, while some of the 

 other soils have merely a nominal value. The investigations, while 

 started in the interests of the tobacco culture, indicate that new indus- 

 tries may be established on soils that at the present time are held in 

 slight esteem. Important lessons are taught from the industry of the 

 people which would be of immense practical value if applied in other 

 localities. Active steps have already been taken to follow up this sur- 

 vey with an attempt to introduce a better type of tobacco on certain 

 soils which closely resemble some of the Cuban soils. 



During the spring of 1901 this work was extended into Dauphin and 

 Lebanon counties. 



Results in Ohio. — A soil survey was made of Montgomery County, 

 comprising an area of 480 square miles. This county is the center of 

 the Zimmer Spanish cigar-filler tobacco district, and it is intended to 

 follow up the survey with tobacco investigations similar to those 

 planned for Pennsylvania. The eight types of soil found in the county 

 are derived from glacial material, which has been reworked to some 

 extent by stream action. 



Results in North Carolina. — The North Carolina department of agri- 

 culture asked the cooperation of this Department two years ago in the 

 classification and mapping of the soils of that State, as a basis for 

 experimentation upon the crops and methods of cultivation and fertili- 

 zation best adapted to the several soils. In pursuance of this coopera- 

 tion, a soil survey was made from Raleigh to Newbern, a distance of 

 100 miles, with an average width of about 9 miles, crossing the entire 

 section of the coastal plains and reaching up into the soils of the crys- 



