10 BULLETIISr 402, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



THE AKRON FIELD STATION. 



The following paragraphs contain a description of the Akron Field 

 Station, the scope of the experiments, and the methods employed in 

 conducting them. 



LOCATION. 



The Akron Field Station is located 4 miles east of Akron, the county 

 seat of Washington County, in northeastern Colorado. It is about 

 60 miles south of the Nebraska line and 60 miles west and 11 miles 

 north of the point where Colorado meets the north line of Kansas. 

 The Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad bounds the station on 

 the south. Denver lies about 115 miles southwest. The station is 

 located in approximately 40° N. latitude and 130° W. longitude. 

 The elevation is about 4,560 feet above sea level. 



DESCRIPTION. 



The Akron Field Station contains 227 acres. Of this area, 160 

 acres, known as the ''forestry quarter," are owned by the Colorado 



Fig. 3. — Buildings of the Akron Field Station. Native vegetation is shown in the foreground. (From a 

 photograph lent by the Office of Exhibits, U. S. Department of Agriculture.) 



Agricultural Experiment Station and are used by the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture in 

 accordance with the terms of a cooperative agreement. The legal 

 description of this land is the ''NE. J section 12, township 2 N., range 

 52 W." Sixty-seven acres lying directly south of the forestry quar- 

 ter are controlled by the Department of Agriculture through the 

 Office of Dry-Land Agriculture Investigations. The buildings at the 

 station are shown in figure 3. 



The surface of the farm ranges from nearly level to slightly rolling. 

 Very little moisture is lost by run-off. There are no protecting hiUs 

 or effective shelter belts. No part of the experimental area is irri- 

 gated. 



The soil is a fine sandy loam. Various local names, such as ''hard 

 land " or " tight land, " are given this type of soil to distinguish it from 

 the light, sandy soils. The dark surface layer varies from 1 to 2 feet 



