The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-02-04

province is the Piedment province which
 extends into the east central counties Of
 Alabama. The soils of thls section are de-
 rived from the decomposition of underly l ing granites and other solid rocks. They l differ in practically every respect from
 the coastal plains coils. A study of these
 soils, belonging to the Cecil series, has
 been made from Maryland Houthward to l Alabama. A wide range of crops Is known
 to be adapted to cultivation on the df-
 ferent types In the series. Perhaps most | important to Alabama is tho well eHtab- 1 lished adaptation of these Hoils to the l production of winter whent and oats and to corn, clover and timothy. This group of crops points to the Piedmont section
 as one of tho important regions for the development of the dairy and stock Inter-
 ests of tho stato. The Increasing manufac- turing interests of tho stats demand that
 the population thus engaged should have local supply of high grade dairy pro- ducts and the experience of the more northern states of North Carolina, Vir- Rinia and Maryland has shown that dalrying and stock raising under modern conditions of agriculture are almost uni- formly successful upon both the Cecil clay and Cecil lonm of this Piedmont sec- tion. Upon the Cecil sandy loam the peach industry is also very generally success wul
 Wheat and Oats.
 The northern and north-central sections of Alabama are occupied by the low ranges and intervening valleys of the AL legheny mountain regions. Here again the soils and the climatic conditions differ en- tirely from those Of either the coastal plain or the Piedmont provinces. Many of the valleys are occupied by soils de- rived from the partial solution of lime stone rocks. and upon such soils wheat, oats and blue grass grow particularly well from Pennsylvania southward to Alabama. The soils of the Hagerstowa series formed from these llmestones con stitute the dominant types of the great valley of Virginia, and in Alabama they produce good yields of cotton in addi- ton to the grass and grain crops of more northern latitudes. The mountain soils derived from shale and sandstone rocks are not usually considered of such high value for general farm crops, but the more leamy soils are well adapted to ap- pie orcnarding, while the sander lands are very favorable to peach culture. Good pasture and grain lands exist and stock raising and orcharding are favored by both the soils and the climate.
 In north western Alabama occur consid- erable areas of the soils derived from the plateau limestones. These soils of the C1arksville series are not only well suited to general farming, including the pro- duction of wheat, corn, oats and hay, bur some of the types are noted apple soils in the Ozark district and one type, the Clarksville silt loam, practically domi- mates the tobacco region of western Ten uessee and western Kentucky. The uses and value of these lands are only partial ly appreciated at present by their own CTS or by outside investors, 1t is through this region that soil and climate condi- tions more nearly approach those of the north-oentrai states and differ most markedly from the conditions of the Pied mont and the coastal plain.
 This brief review of the most general conclusions reached from a study of 9DOO square miles of Alabama soils, one-1fth the area of the state, constitutes only an indication of the necessity for more com- plete and detailed knowledge of the high Iy varied soil resources of the state Such a knowledge Is necessary and Is funda- mental to a proper application of the ex- perffnental results secured by the State College of Agriculture; to the introduc- ton of many new crops into the state which the soil survey has already demon- strated may be grown with profit; to such diversincation of agricultural pro duction as shall enable the farmers Of the state to produce their own forage, grain and food crops while not lessening, but rather increasing. their ability to pro duce the great staple cotton; to enable citizens of other states to seek homes and investments in Alabama lands to their own profit and that of the commun- ity they sock; to serve also as an educa- tional basis for the general betterment of farm life and farm practice through thorough and detailed understanding by the people of Alabama of the greatest natural resource of the state, the soii and its undeveloped resources.
 More Than Pro Rata.
 The bureau of soils working alone can | not apportion more than two soil survey parties for a period of six months each year to carry on the soil survey work In l Alabama Even under these conditions 1 Alabama will be securing more than pro rata distribution of the funds avail
 able for soil survey work Thus the en- 1 closed communications from the com- missioner of agriculture for Alabama have been given very careful considera- I ton in connection with proposed coop
 erative work in making the soil survey of l the entire state.
 | feel that under the existing circum- \ stances a particular effort on the part of l the bureau of soils should be made to meet the needs and the desires of the | state of Alabama and If the state should l take action leading to the early conclu- | sion of cooperative arrangemnts the bu- l reau of soils will allot annually an | amount equal to any appropriation the I state may make for soil survey work up | to a maximum of s12,500. The bureau will | furnish trained soil survey experts for l service in Alabama to such an extent as 1 may seem advisable and will undertake l the supervision and inspection of the field | work necessary to securing accurate and | uniform classification and mapping Of the l soils The bureau of soils will also pro- 1 vide for the proper correlation of the 1 soils of Alabama with similar soils in
 other regions of the United States in or der not only that uniform results may l be secured but also in order that the | crop adaptations and soil management l methods encountered in other states upon | the same or similar types of soil may be made fully applicable to Alabama soils and agricultural conditions.
 | Finally the soil surveys made In Ala
 bama will be prepared in the form of re- | ports and maps and publications of the l results as separate county reports will | be effected as In the case of all other | soil surveys made in other states and | territories. Thus for each county a lith- 1 ographed map and printed report will 1 be issued The report on each county IS | printed under authority of congress, and 20OO copies are made available for dls- l tribution by the representative in whose district the survey is made. 800 copies are furnished to each United States senator
 and 1000 copies are furnished for dlstri-
 button by the department of agriculture. 1 Tn this way both county. state and na- tional requirements are met In case the | state authorities are desirous of securing
 additional copies of each report. it is
 commonly possible to secure the printing