8 



SALT LAKE COMMERCIAL CLUB 



upon its salt incrusted surface, even native plant growth was utterly 

 impossible. Within the short period of a year, this farm, under intelli- 

 gent management, produced a satisfactory crop and is now regarded as 

 being the best "40" wesb of the city. A brief article by Prof. L. A. 

 Merrill regarding the results of this experiment will be found in this 

 booklet. 



An entirely successful demonstration of drainage reclamation by 

 private enterprise, under conditions similar to those of the Swan Tract, 

 has been a recent accomplishment by the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company 

 in Bear River Valley under the able direction of its chief engineer, J. C. 

 Wheelon, by whom an instructive article has been contributed. The 

 articles *by Prof. E. D. Ball of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, R. A. Hart of the Department of the Interior and Mr. Wheelon, 

 regarding the practicability of reclaiming worthless lands by means of 

 drainage, should be thoroughly convincing. 



SOIL 



Concerning the chemical composition of the soil of this tract (aside 

 from its alkaline content), it is shown by analyses that the elements 

 essential to plant growth are found in such quantities as to assure com- 

 mercial agricultural success. The Utah Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, in co-operation with the Bureau of Soils of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture, at the time the soil survey of this tract was 

 made, collected some fifty samples from various portions of the land, 

 and included in this bulletin is an exhaustive article by Prof. Robert 



