The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1905-07-17

HiHc OF iono "a the tl1. A33 which com.
pose the AREA Of the United states ol
America. uncie Sam. through the bureau
Of soils Of the department Of agricul.
tufe. win spend eighteen Years and al
least sso0o,o0o. when the wctk Of sde
burcaS OF soils has son etE iete1 II
wiz De possible for q man INTENDING q
purchase farm to write 20 the ie-
partment of agriculture. and sce ira from
that department detailed MAJ ef he
section IN which h.r t,rn, g. located. To-
gether with description Of the section
Then by looking up his inienied par
chase on The map and consulting tie ie.
scriptive booklet. he can determine to =
nicetv rs value. The map win show BY
different coiors The nature Of the soil.
I while the descriptive booklet win icll
! rs value which has been determined
I By examination OF tn soil study OF the
I roaboad facilities. and examination Of
tho markets and othcr att0lifying enndi-
iiors. The soil maps and bo .iets M
enable many farmers. who have been
only partially successful. 10 leain whore
IN hey have failed by tring 10 raise crops
unadapted 10 the nature OF thei- lands.
and viii instruct sherl az 20 what crops
are best suited 10 their farms It viii
/ instruct them also as % he hest method
Of euliivatins soils OF d,@erent ,inds
While the examination OF soils has
been earred on for perhaps Il hundred
years by laboratory methods the present
Investigation is along entirely different
and FAR from practicable lines. Tho soils
division was established as a separate
bureau OF the department Of agrlcui,ure
on July l. 1901. and since thar time its
for has been ln reased more than II
fold Up TO Dcem5er Si 1904 he anr7
eau has mapped S.S55 square miles. IN
small patches scattered over the whole
Emitted States. and It is estimated that
eighteen years more win b. required 10
complete The work
The work Of surveying the soils IS now
being carried on by twelve field parties
working IN as many states aud terri-
tories soil party cr, si-ts generally
OF two men. who are epuippoA With a
compass. an instrument known as an
adometer used for measuring disiarccs
sometimes With plane table TO make
or correct base I~1p. and with a 'ol
auFa. ssa..-- -, sampies OF earth are
taken by weans OF tie soi' iscr 10 a
derih of three feet IN humid regions and
40 deprh OF six feet n arid ,gicns.
but the Instrument may ne used, by
m,shs OF cxtensions, in makiag borllss
90 depth ,f Is feet wpcn a,kali soils
are likely e be encountercd. ,i,c p.rtv
Is equipocd also with insnumeats and
ch0niostls for determining the total aiisi-
4 content OF the soft and the chemical
composition OF the al.ll salts snd rfi-
cation waters
The Investigation Of 30 sli'. is c,n-
aucte this wise: selecting some town
in tn iirea 90 be SURVEYED trc oa.ty
hires haese aad buggy ana drives nut
into The country Than one o. both Of
ihe mon 20 cut into the fields for dis
tance OF half mile. more or less and
take frequent borings They examine ,he
material Careful'v. ntilg the tcNtare
Shcther sam, silt or clay the changes
which take place at varying depths the
presence Of gravel thc drainage condi-
tiors and the character OF the crops or
native vegetation Moving forward in
IFS work il she purity nnls that the ma
terit changes. either IA The surface soil
on in the suhsoti suffice sty 20 infiueace
planr gr,wtk 'No ch,.Metcr Of tnis
change IS noted aud the boundary mes
bvtwcrn is two typos Gro raced out
SeIrue -amples OF ne 'oi' md the sub
soil are sent f. 90 the ,nreaus lahniu
tories. where paintaking examination
Of them IS oiado
nlrng ghc months That the PARTIES are
in the FIELD they are careful q observe
tile htrlcttr snd yield OF tine cross aud
TO acquire the fullest knowledge Of farm
in~ ,,uaftf,,,a la fh. .r,..,, ,,,., .t,.f,.,..l
she reports made %, the parties also
take into consideration clinaf:, cond
tinus Transportation facilities aal 1ar-
iSct and labor eunditicns An Of thls In
formation IL necessary r. order to de-
tcrminc The value OF the 'ana and its
adaptabil,y 70 the raising OF different
varieties of crops
AZ the Lewis and Clark cxoosVior. The
manner IN which the wDck IS carried out
is shown IN sn Interesting way 81 means
CT maps and methods. ana an attendant
eXrdalps -nyhirs t1at is not opa
Tho oXh il has attrlcted u Great deal
OF interest among farmers In the Pacific
northwest and thcse nom ihe east who
come 70 The fair for tie farrers are
coming 10 realize the practical impor-
tance Of the work which Unele sam Is
carrying on in the interests OF economic
The Investigations carried o. By rhc
bureau Of soils already have proved OF
practical value. and their Importance
when con,pleied hardy can be tsaceiged.
In Maryland for example. Il was fonnd
that peaches Of superior quality aud ha-
vor could be growr en 30 oe OF the stony
ioothil seils tSat were wort, ess Tor
general farming purposes. After a soil
survey Of the Pecos Valley m .sev Mex 4
leo. the bureau recommended thai the /
amount OF alfalfa srlwn sh0Hi be a-
creused and the growing Of feed er, ps /
and soils be substituted by aging M
dustry rhis has been done most snc-
cessfully The bureau is now a.teinpi- 4
ing TO persaads planters IA tae sol,h4
Atlantic states TO ty growing cotton I
on the ,ny soils of the region. in pllso I
Of devotng ,hclr attention exclusively Z
90 raising .iottou on the lDere easily /
worked but less productive amdy soils.
As an 'nstlncc OF the cffest 30 the bur
eau's wo.k ON lhe marSet price on hand /
Va various localities case IN connerii-
rut Is cited by Milton whituev chic. OF Z
The bureau an Whiineys mon deciar-
ed ihai llc soils OF the Connecticut val-
ley were peculiarly adopted 90 the SOW
'ng Of a superior wrapper tobacco. aud I
The value OF those lands increased three
foil The trucSinr soils of the Atlantic 4
seaboard thfoush the my slig.tioes Of
lhs board have increased from ,'omi
nal v.iuo Of s. an acre Z, more q in