THE SOIL SURVEY 735 



630. The soil survey report. — The soil survey report 

 consists of two parts, the printed report and the map 

 showing the distribution of the soil types. The printed 

 report accompanying the soil map should be a brief but 

 comprehensive summary of the observations of the field 

 party in the areas surveyed. It should cover six types of 

 information: (1) location and boundaries of the area; 

 (2) general physical features; (3) climate; (4) agricul- 

 tural history and development; (5) description of the 

 soils; (6) suggestions for improvement in the manage- 

 ment of the soil that may have been determined by the 

 survey. 



The description should point out the salient topographic 

 forms, the range in elevation, the nature and development 

 of the drainage, the transportation facilities, and the dis- 

 tribution of population and of farm areas. The discus- 

 sion of climate should note the monthly mean tempera- 

 ture and amount of precipitation ; the character of the 

 extreme ranges in these ; the direction of prevailing winds ; 

 and the occurrence of any special features, such as untimely 

 frosts, sleet and hail and windstorms, and the nature of 

 local variations in climate that may be due to the prox- 

 imity of bodies of water or topographic features. The 

 agricultural history should note the source and character 

 of the agricultural population, the chief products and any 

 changes that have occurred in their production, and the 

 present status of the area. 



The description of the soils should be in two parts. 

 First, the grouping of the types into series and larger 

 divisions, with the geological and topographic relations 

 of these groups and a clear statement of the characteristic 

 properties of each group. Any important characteris- 

 tics that are common to two or more types or series, such 



