CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1900-09-13

vision of Botany of the Department o.;
Agriculture in the last three years. has
been the survey and mapping OF the
soils in a number of the important ag-
ricultural districts of the United
States. The most Important work OF
this kind has been in the arid portions
of the United States, where irrigation
Is practiced. About 45U.000 acres havs
been surveyed and mapped In some ci
the principal irrigated districts 81
Montana, Utah. New Mexico and Ari-
zona. the maps 80 prepared having q
very practical valuo...s they show the
distribution of .ass different types OF
soil, which lands can be irrigated with
safety, tnose which require especial
care in the application of water on ac-
count of alkalt. and those which hayo
too much ail-aif to- cultivation with
out special efforts for reclamation.
Practical methods for removing the
salts have been. and are being, worked
out. In the vicinity OF Billings. Mon
tana, thousands OF dollars are being In
vested now as result OF these investi-
cations. and 1t Is likely that this In
vestment will be worth hundreds OF
thousands of dollars to the Immediate
|
vicinity.
In the vicinity Of Salt Lake. Utah.
there is a large area of 10000 acres OF
land at present lying idle on account
of the accumulation of alkali. which 1t
has been estimated could be reclaimed
for comparatively small sum. when 1t
would be worth in the neighborhood
of $5.000.o0O.
In the Pecos Valley. New Mexico.
plans were devised for the reclamation
! of large area In the immediate vlcin-
! IL, Of Roswell which has lately been
ruii.ec Nv alkali and seepage water. 1t
is estimated that at Roswell alone the
damage to the Innc has amounted to at
least 100000. This land can all BE re-
claimed. aud steps have recently beea
taken to reclaim this land and to pro-
tect the rest OF this area as pointed out
+, by the Department of Agriculture.
| At Carlsbad the water itself con-
tains SO high a percentage OF alkali
salts that special methods will have to
be adopted for the use OF this water to
prevent further injury. as the lands
have already been somewhat injured
In the valley. The results OF this
work will be worth hundreds of thou
sands of dollars to the Pecos Valley.
Over 100000 acres OF land have
been surveyed and mapped in the
states OF Massachusetts,. Connecticut.
Maryland. and Louisiana. besides re-
connoissance over . much larger area.
In the Connecticut Valley the tobac-
co lands were classified and mapped.
and the influence Of the soil on the
| -. - 4rh- sSn
In addition to this the cause Of the fer
mentation of the cigar-leaf tobacco has
been worked out, and an improved
method of fermenting the Connecticut
tobacco has been introduced. which II
is believed will revolutIonize the prac-
tice In that state. This method gives
a much more uniform product. and
thus improves the value OF the leaf
1t shortens the time required to fer
ment the tobacco about eight months.
and so reduces the Insurance and the
loss of Interest on the money invest
ed. 1t is estimated that the value OF
this work will amount to at least $780,
600 per annum to the farmers OF the
| Connecticut Valley. The investiga-
tions are being carried still further In
order to see whether the quality OF the
tobacco can be further improved. There
is reason to believe 1t can be.
In addition to these practical results.
| improvements have been made in the
methods OF soil Investigation, both In
the laboratory and in the field. Some
very important problems connected
with the physical and chemical cousti-
tuition of soils are being worked out.
which give promise Of being OF great
| value in economic lines.
| Under the present administration
the work OF the office OF experiment.
stations has been more than doubled.
This is due in part to the development
of old enterprises and in part to the
| establishment OF new ones.
Under the liberal policy of the past
three years the agricultural depart
ment has largely Increased Its efforts
to aid enterprises for the practical edu-
cation OF the farmer. II has Joined ac-
lively in the movement to improve the
methods of teaching agriculture In the
colleges and TO Introduce agricultural
subjects and nature study into the
public schools. 1t has shown what is
being done In these lines in other
lands. and how we need to more thor
oushly develop our system OF agricul-
tural education in order to keep pacs
with the strenuous Efforts of our In
dustrial rivals. 1t has collated and
published information regarding the
farmers institutes. showing that now
these institutes are held In forty-three
states. and are annually attended by
half million farmers. It has pro-
NOTED the establishment OF reading
courses for farmers and published lists
Of useful books and bulletins. SO that
now any farmer in the United States
can find out, by sending a postal card
to the department. what are the best
books and public documents for him to
read to keep abreast of the times In
his business.