Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-05-12
HAVE INvENTORIED
STATE SOIL AREAS
Agricultural Forces Cooperate
Surveying Wisconsin's Soil
Resources.

An inventory of the soils Of Wis
consin, county by county, Is being
taken.
This stock taking is being done
through the cooperation of the United
States Department of Agriculture, the
agricultural experiment station and the
Wisconsin geological and natural his
tory survey.
1t will take a number of years to-,
complete this work, but already very
material progress has been made.
Part Surveyed in Detail.
The survey, according to w. J. Geib,
special representative Of the United
States bureau of soils in Wisconsin,
is being made in general way in
the northern and less developed por-
tons of the state, and in a detailed
manner in the southern and older
portions. The northern part of the
state has been divided into five areas,
and the work of this entire region has
been completed and published.
The first area, including Clark, Tay-
| Tor, Marathon and Lincoln counties
was surveyed number of years ago,
and has since been mapped in greater
detail A report Of the work is avail
able for distribution.
The second area, including Polk,
Barron, Rusk, Chippewa, Eau Claire,
! Dunn Pepin, Pierce and st. Croix
counties, was inventoried in a group,
and the third area, including Burnett,
Washburn, Sawyer, Douglas, Bayfield,
and most Of Ashland counties, was
considered in common.
The fourth area, including Forest,
Florence, Marinette, Oconto, Langlade
and ShaWanO counties and in the
| fifth area was taken Oneida, Villas,
Iron, Price and part of Ashland coun-
| ties.
Nominal Fee Required.
The last legislature directed that
the survey should publish an assem-
bled general soil map of the entire
northern half of Wisconsin. This has
been done and a soil map and report
of the northern part of the state is
now available The legislative act pro-
viding for this map stipulates that a
charge Of % cents be made for the
map. Orders for it should be seEt
to the superintendent of public prop
erty, Madison. In addition to this
assembled map, small individual coun-
ty soil maps have been prepared of
each county in the northern half of
the state, and these small county maps
can be secured without charge.
In the detailed surveys of the south
ern part of the state the field work
has been completed and maps and
reports have been published covering
Waushara, Waukesha, Iowa, Fond du
Lac, Buffalo, La Crosse, Columbia,
Milwaukee, Door, Wood, Portage and
| Waupaca counties The field work
has been completed and reports and
maps are now il course Of preparation
for Jackson, Outagamie, Racine, Ke
nosha, Walworth, Adams, Rock and
Washington counties.
All of the available reports and
maps, with the exception of the gen.
eral soil map of northern Wisconsin,
may be secured without charge by
writing to A. r. Whitson, Madison.
The state authorities are now in
position to give information concern
ing the quality of land in nearly all
parts of the state This information
Is of special value to home-seekers
who are looking for farms, individual
farmers who wish to know the best
methods of Improvement for their soils,
to the schools in which agriculture is
taught, to county agents, extension
workers and to the experiment station
authorities who are now enabled to
give specific Instructions to farmers
as to the best methods of improving
their soil. The general surveys of the
northern part of the state have out
| lined extensive areas of excellent soil,
and show that those who have ignored
northern Wisconsin for the regions
to the north and west have overlooked
extensive areas of rich and promising
land.