The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-10-03
Vol. 81, No 2.

and meat which form cur chief food
supply
Made by the Glaciers
The greater part of this yini- blown
dust lies on bed OF rock whtch was
ground up and brought down by tho
glaciers curing the great ice ages Of
/ the past. There are places where the
dust Is not thick and where this eIa-
cial soil lies close to the surface. This
/ also forms some OF the best wheat
and fruit lands. The Red River Val
| ley is a part of it. and you may find
more about Lakes Erie and Ontario.
running up into New York. taking in
Buffalo, Oswego and going on clear 70
the Canadian boundary. That land is
excellent for fruits and IL is one Of
our best regions for the production of
apples and grapes.
In addition TO these soils we havo
those which form the banks of rivers
and the lowlands adjoining They are
scattered along the Missouri and Mis-
into them. They come from the high
lands Eearby and are young soils. be-
ing usually more productive than the
territory from which they have come.
OF these about 100000 acres have
been surveyed.
And then there are other special
patches known as the limestone val
leys and uplands Of which have
, tested between seven and eight mill
lion acres Some Of these are found
| under the blue grass Of Kentucky,
where they produce excellent horses
and whisk ey. They extend down into
Tennessee and also cover a great part
OF Missouri running south Of that
State into Arkansas. There is an
other class OF soils in the Rocky
Mountain basin, and some Of all these
soils are found on the Pacific slope.
Tho Bureau OF Soils.
/ wish | could take YOU through the
lSlIra4u show
! people at work testing the earth which
/ has been sent in from the fields
! There are great laboratories which
! have bottles containing soils of every
! description and representing every
part of the country. There are up-
sissippi and the tributaries which flow
i ward of 500 different soils in these
! bottles and the reports Will tell Just
/ what the property OF each Is and what
crops it will raise. You may learn
! the character of the earth. Some Of
/ il is coarse gritty sand. other soils
are made of fine sands and others Of
! sandy loans and fine sandy loans.
! There are other divisions such as silt.
/ clay loans and clay, 50 that one can
/ know the texture Of the land and for
1 what It is fitted. description of the
varieties and their characteristics >
] too long for this paper.
Soil Maps.
When this soil survey is completed
every farmer in the United states can
write to the government and learn all
| about the land he is working. Il viii
tx sent a map Of his county which in
some cases is as big as tablecloth
and so pictured in colors that he can
! tell in just what townships each kind
| of land is and can almost pick out
his own farm
In such surveys the work IS ex-
f! haustiveiy done The experts who
are college bred men and who know
ali about the earth and its products
/ bore down into the ground TO a depth
| Of three feet and take up specimens
OF the soil and analyze them. In
some cases they have an electrical ap-
paratus which tells the presence OF
! salts in the soil. and they use every
means Of getting accurate, up-to-date
| infOrma tiOn.
The maps show the lay Of the land.
| the streams. the roads and the chtcf
market towns. They show You the
/ educational facilities and character OF
the people. They describe the towns
/! and the transportation facilities.
. steam and electric and also the wa
! terWays. They will tell You whether
/ the roads are good or bad and wheth
er they are toll roads or free roads.
They give the climate and the cent
perature from month to month
throughout the year They make up
each crop that is raised and tel! how
it should be handled 70 make il grow
1 better They describe the stock is
ing possibilities. give the rates of
farm wages. and everything. III short,
that the man who wishes u settle in
such a county should know
How tho Surveys Are Used.
This Information is Of great Value
to inN estors. fer by il they can tell
the possibility OF the farmers paving
their loans or the credit y hich should
be given 10 the county or to the tbya-
ships or the municipalities within il.
/ They are OF advantage 10 .he rail-
] roads who can use the Information
/ for the placing Of immigrants. ar1 TO
+! settlers and land buyers Of cverE de-
scription. / understand that the rail-
/ Continued on page sixteen)