1908.] Soil Surveys in the United States. 



49 



structure, or the relationship of these particles ; (3) their 

 organic matter ; and (4) their natural drainage and topography. 

 All masses or areas of soil which are found to be closely similar 

 in all these respects are said to belong to the same soil type, 

 and under similar climatic conditions the type is capable of 

 producing similar kinds of crops. It has also been found that 

 several soil types in a given region may differ only in their 

 texture, being identical or similar in all other respects. Such 

 a group of soils is called a series. Again, several series have 

 been found to be derived from the same classes of material and 

 to exist in a region having similar climatic features, and such 

 a region constitutes a " soil province." 



The separate report upon each soil-survey area contains an 

 account of each soil type within the area. It gives a description 

 of the characteristic appearance of the type and summarises 

 the uses to which it is put and the agricultural methods adopted. 

 Each report also contains an account of the crops raised in 

 other areas where the same type of soil has been met with, 

 and suggestions are made as to new crops or new methods. 



From these reports the individual farmer may learn the 

 relationship of the soil upon his own farm, not only to the other 

 soils in the immediate neighbourhood, but to soils of the same 

 character in widely separated regions. He may thus observe 

 the results obtained by other farmers upon these soils, and 

 apply their experience to his own conditions. 



There is in the United States a large class of persons who for 

 various reasons desire to secure new farms in more or less 

 distant localities, and who therefore require information which 

 will enable them to compare conditions known to them with 

 those of the new localities under consideration. These soil 

 survey reports enable the Department of Agriculture to furnish 

 such enquirers with information upon which a judgment may 

 be based, and they are also very largely used by educational 

 institutions. Besides the immediate uses of the soil survey, 

 it is considered that it is likely to be of the greatest value in 

 encouraging and facilitating the cultivation of crops in those 

 districts for which they are most suitable. 



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