Rocky Ford enterprise., 1900-08-24
FOR THE FARMERS.
WHAT WAS DONE BY THE RE-
PUBLICAN ADMiNI
surveying Soils In the Arid Region to
Aid Irrigation for defamation
In the rsr". NaiI-y-sasing Of Money
for Connecticut Tobacco Grower.-

been the survey and mapping OF the |
soils in number OF the important ag-
riculturai 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 $4,000 acres have
been surveyed and mapped IN some OF
the principal irrigated districts of
Montana. Utah. New Mexico. and Ari-
zona. the maps 80 prepared having n
very practical value. as they show the
| distribution OF the different types OF
soil. which lands can be irrigated with
safety. those which require especial
care In the application of water on ac-
count of alkaii. and those which have
too much alkaii for cultivation with
out special efforts for reclamation.
Practical methods for removing the
, salts have been. and are being. worked
out. In the vicinity of BiiiinEs. Mon
tana, thousands OF dollars are being in
vested now rs result of th.s. invesu-
cations. and II is likely that this In
vestmcnt will be worth hundreds OF
thousands OF dollars to the immediate
vicinity.
In the vicinity OF Salt Lake. Utah.
there Is a lars. area OF 10000 acres OF
land nj present lying idle on account
OF the accumulation OF alkali. which II
has been estimated could be reclaimed
for a comparatively small sum. when II
would be worth In the neishborho"'
| of ss.0o0.ooo.
In the Pccos Valley. New Mexico.
plans were devised for the reclamation
OF large area In the Immediate viein-
| ity of Roswell which has lately been
ruined by alkaii and sccpa.e water. II
| is estimated that nj Roswell alone the
| damage to the land has amounted to NJ
least $500. 600 This land can all be re-
claimed. aud steps have recently been
taken to reclaim this land and TO pro
! ;cct the rest of this area ms pointed out
7 by the Department OF Agriculture.
/ AT Carlsbad tn. water itself con-
tains so high n percentage OF aIkhi
salts that special methods will hav. to
! be adopted for the use OF this water to
prevent further injury. as the lands
have already been somcwhn; injured
Z In the valley The results OF this
work will be worth hundreds of thou
sands of dollars to the Pccos Valley.
Over 100000 acres of land have
4 been surveyed and mapped In the
] states of Massachusetts,. Connecticut.
4 Maryland. and Louisiana. besides ra-
eonnoissaacc over n much larger area.
In the Connecticut Valley the tobnc-
co lands were classified and mapped.
and the influence OF the soil on the
character Of the tobacco was studied.
/ In addition to this the cause of the FER
men;ation OF the cIgar-leaf tobacco has
been worked out. and an improved
method OF fcrmcnting the Connecticut
tobacco has been introduced. which II
! is believed will rcvoiutiorize the prac-
1 tirc in that state. This method gives
n much more uniform product. anu
4 thus improves the value OF the lear.
] II shortcns the time required to Ter
ment the tobacco about eight months.
! and so reduces the insurance and the
I loss OF interest on the money Invest
J ed. 1t is estimated that the value OF
/ this work will amount to at least s5O).-
I 600 per annum to the farmers OF the
Connecticut Valley. The investiga-
,ions 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.
IL 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 const!-
tuition OF soils are being worked out.
- ,f
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
I 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. II has shown what is
bcinr done in these lines in other
lands. and how we need to more thor
oughly develop our system of agricul-
tural education in order to keep pace
with the strenuous efforts OF our in
dustrial rivals. II 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 n million farmers. 1t 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 postal card
to the department. what are the best
hooks and public documents for him to