The addition of lime and dolomite to acid fertilizers to produce non-acid-forming fertilizers is being actively carried on. In referring to the table you will see that in 1905 the equivalent basicity in pounds of CaCO3 per ton of fertilizer was 23.9 percent. In 1915 the average fertilizer became acid, with an equivalent acidity in pounds of CaCO3 (this was the amount of CaCO, necessary to produce a neutral fertilizer) of 21 percent, in 1925 the acidity was increased to 70.3 percent and in 1932 to 148.5 percent. Very close and cordial cooperation exists between the Bureau, the fertilizer industry, and the experiment stations. In this way the results of our investigations are made available to both the manufacturer and consumer as rapidly as they are forthcoming. An important part of the estimated savings of $25,000,000 on the farmer's fertilizer bill for the past year is to be attributed to the Bureau's fertilizer investigation program carried on during the past 20 years. C.W.A. FUNDS Mr. SANDLIN. I see you have an emergency Civil Works fund of $8,260. Dr. KNIGHT. Yes, sir; that was primarily for cleaning up; making repairs to buildings, and work of that sort--to give labor to the unemployed, in putting our buildings and grounds in a little better shape. SOIL CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS Mr. SANDLIN. The next item is: Soil chemical and physical investigations: For chemical, physical, and physicalchemical investigations of soil types, soil composition, and soil minerals, the soil solution, solubility of soil, and all chemical and physical properties of soils in their relation to soil formation, soil texture, erosibility, and soil productivity, $47,879. Dr. KNIGHT. The following statement is submitted under this item: Appropriation: Increase, budget 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 2, 379 The reduction of $8,666 in the 1935 estimate of $47,879 below the Impoundment of 6% of 15 percent pay cut- 5 percent salary restoration.. -2, 491 -8, 554 +2, 379 -8, 666 WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION Work under this appropriation includes studies of those chemical and physical properties of soils which determine their degree of resistance to the erosive action of rain wash; the determination of the quantity and quality of both the inorganic and organic constituents of the great soil group; and a study of the effect of these fine particles upon the response of the different soil types to fertilizer treatments. These researches provide the basic information necessary for the evaluation of the different soil groups in terms of their potential productivity and thus lay the foundation for the development of a sound land-use policy in connection with the agricultural adjustment program. In addition to these researches, the work includes all of the analyses for the soil survey and a large number of routine examinations and tests of soil and soil materials for other governmental agencies, the results of which are necessary for the conduct of their work. No other agency is in position to carry out these researches which require sustained study over a period of years or to perform the routine services with which this division is charged. The development of new and improved methods and more efficient equipment during the past few years has resulted in economies of operation that have made it possible to keep pace with the increasing demand for service without a corresponding increase in operating costs. C.W.A. FUNDS APPLICABLE UNDER THIS HEADING Under the Civil Works program, $660 has been allotted for minor laboratory work in the soil laboratories. Mr. SANDLIN. Doctor McCall, I notice the estimate for 1935 is the same as the estimated obligations for 1934. Dr. MCCALL. That is true. There has been no change in the allotment. Mr. SANDLIN. Will you give us a statement with reference to the work done under this appropriation? Dr. MCCALL. The work done under this appropriation is confined largely to the chemical examination of soil samples and a study of their physical and chemical characteristics in connection with the soil survey. The research, aside from this service work which the Division of Soil Chemistry does for the soil survey and for other divisions of the work, is largely centered on the very fine fractions of the soil known as the colloids. A thorough knowledge of this fine. material gives us a basis not only for the classification of the soil, but but for a prediction of the behavior of the soil with respect to response to fertilizers and response to cultural methods. The findings of the division have brought out in very strong relief the fact that the fertilizer practices for different soils must vary widely in order to be efficient and effective. In some soils the fertilizer applications made under one condition will be entirely ineffective, although the same fertilizer application made on other soil types may be quite effective. For example, we find that certain types of soils contain colloid materials that have a very strong affinity for phosphorus. Soluble phosphatic fertilizers applied to a soil of that type will fail to respond until you reach a point where the affinity of that soil colloid for the fertilizer, or its absorbing capacity, has been satisfied. In other words, there is a competition between these fine particles and the roots of the plant for the available phosphorus, and until you have satisfied that affinity of the fine material for the colloidal material your plants will be unable to hold their own in this competition. Mr. HART. What class of soil is that? Is it a general type? Dr. McCALL. Yes; that is true of the collodial material in several of the types upon which we have worked, particularly the heavier types. Quite naturally the soils that contain large quantities of colloids, like the clays, have this absorptive capacity very much more developed than the sandier soils. Mr. HART. That would apply to dark clay loams? Dr. McCALL. That would apply to dark clay loams, and also to many of the lighter-colored clay loams in which the fine fraction is a large percentage of the total weight of the soil. Mr. HART. Then it would be necessary to use phosphorus in larger quantities? Dr. McCALL. Yes; relatively large. You might apply, we will say, 200 pounds of superphosphate to a particular soil without any effect. If you add another 50 pounds, then you might get the desired effect. You might from the application of 200 pounds assume that that soil did not respond to phosphorus; yet if you go a little beyond that point, and once satisfy the requirements of the soil, then your plant is able to step in and get its share in the competition with this fine material. That has been one of the very important phases of the chemical investigation of these fine fractions. Mr. HART. One other question right there: Once you satisfy that, we will say this year, will that disappear? Dr. MCCALL. Not completely so. Some of that absorbed material will remain unavailable and fixed. A certain amount of it, however, will come back slowly into soluble form and be available to the plant. That is a property which varies somewhat with the different soils; so that we must consider not only the quantity of the colloid that is present in the soil, but also the quality of the colloid. Dr. KNIGHT. I might make one statement here in regard to this subappropriation. This subappropriation really represents our fundamental scientific: research work undulying practically all of our soil investigations, and the work that has been done during the past 5 years has advanced the science enormously. Our knowledge now of the soil colloid fraction, that very fine fraction of the soil, has given us information on how to handle soils that we did not have before. For example, here is one little thing that may seem very small. We have found that the colloid in any particular soil type is practically the same, but both the quantity and quality differs in different soil types. We have been working upon the basic principles involved in that. We know now pretty well why it is that you have to feed the fertilizer to those soils by the spoon method in the South, while you can add your fertilizer at greater intervals in the North. It is because of the very difference in character of the soil colloids in the two areas, due to the difference in weathering and the difference in the compounds that are present in this fine fraction of the soil. It explains very definitely why the practice that they were carrying on in certain sections of the South was a good practice, while the practice in the North was also good. You can add your fertilizer, say once or twice a season in the North and get the same results that you get if you add it three or four times in the South, and we now know the reasons. SOIL SURVEY INVESTIGATIONS Mr. SANDLIN. The next item is: Soil survey: For the investigation of soils and their origin, for survey of the extent of classes and types, and for indicating upon maps 2nd plats, by coloring or otherwise, the results of such investigations and surveys, $150,908. Dr. KNIGHT. The following is presented for the record: Appropriation: Decrease, Budget, 1935, compared with estimated obligations, 1934... $321, 705 307, 705 275,000 240, 000 150, 908 89, 092 The reduction of $124,092 in the 1935 estimate of $150,908 below the appropriation of $275,000 for 1934 consists of: Impoundment of 6% percent of 15 percent pay cut.. Further reduction in working funds for 1935 ($81,245 for detailed 5 percent salary restoration.. - $13, 264 -21, 736 -95, 555 +6, 463 - 124, 092 The reduction of $95,555 in working funds under this item for 1935 includes: (a) A decrease of $81,245 for detailed and reconnaissance surveys. This decrease will necessitate suspension of cooperative soil survey work in approximately 15 States, and the curtailment of special services now rendered other Government agencies. (b) A decrease of $8,525 for inspection and correlation will be coincident with the curtailment of soil survey field work, as indicated in paragraph next above. (c) A decrease of $5,785 for map drafting contemplates a reduction in the demands on the map-drafting section resulting from curtailment of soil survey field work. WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION The soil survey reports and maps furnish an inventory of the soil-the most important of all of the natural resources of the United States. The work of the soil survey consists of a study of soils in the field with a view to their classification on the basis of their physical characteristics and crop-producing capacity. The soil survey reports and maps furnish the fundamental basis for the development of the land-use policy which will serve as a safe guide in the working out of crop adjustment programs. At present the soil survey reports and maps of the Bureau are in constant demand in connection with the emergency activities of the Government, including the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the crop adjustment activities, and the subsistence farming program; also in connection with the work of land appraisals for the farm loan banks, mortgage adjustment reappraisals and the adjustments in land values for taxation purposes. During the past year the Soil Survey has also been called on to make special surveys and soil studies for other Government agencies, including the War Department, the Navy Department, the Indian Service, Reclamation Service, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the subsistence farming project. C.W.A. FUNDS APPLICABLE UNDER THIS HEADING Civil Works allotments totaling $179,052 have been made for plane table base map work necessary in connection with soil classification. This work is conducted n selected areas in various States and the allotments by States are as follows: SOIL SURVEY REPORTS AND MAPS Dr. MCCALL. During the past year the interest in the soil survey and the demand for the soil-survey reports has reached a point that has never before been attained. This is due to the fact that the soilsurvey reports and maps furnish the only reliable foundation for land classification and constitute a practical basis for the working out of land-use programs. These soil-survey reports and maps of the Bureau are in constant demand by practically all of the emergency activities, including the Civilian Conservation Corps, the crop-adjustment activities, the subsistence farming programs which are being developed, and by the Federal Land banks in their land appraisals, so that we are constantly called upon for information as to the character of the soils involved in these various activities. In this work the Bureau makes two types of surveys, one known as a "reconnaissance" and the other the "detailed survey." The reconnaissance maps are made on a comparatively large scale and furnish the information essential for the development of land-use programs and for the better utilization of the soil resources of the region. The soil surveys as they are conducted in some of the western regions in addition to showing the character of the soil itself, also indicate on the maps the depth of the ground water; the presence or absence of harmful alkali salts in the soil and subsoil. This type of work is confined very largely to the irrigation projects and is essential for determining the most effective use that may be made of a given limited amount of water available in a particular area. I have here for your inspection a soil-survey report and map of the BuckeyeBeardsley area in Arizona, in which the different soil types are shown by colors on the map, and along with that you will notice, in small red figures, are given the percentages of alkali in the surface and the subsoil. On a separate map there is also an indicated depth down to the ground water. The information furnished by these maps and reports serves as a guide for the handling of the project with respect to the selection of the lands that are most likely to prove satisfactory for immediate irrigation development. The lands are classified into four or five broad groups or classes, indicating on the maps the location and boundaries of these different soil types and giving in the report all of the soil data necessary for the best distribution of the available water supply. That type of information is very much in demand in connection with the development of the reclamation and irrigation projects in many of the sections of the West. Here is one of the Deming area in New Mexico, another irrigation project where the water supply is limited. Here is a map and report of Ralls County, Mo., which is typical of the work in the humid regions, where alkali and the question of rainfall and depth of ground water are not involved. The colors indicate the different soil types and their extent and boundaries. The information contained in these maps and reports is in constant use by the agricultural colleges, experiment stations, and Federal land banks, particularly more recently in connection with the appraisals and valuation of lands for loans and for taxation purposes. Mr. SANDLIN. How many maps do you make in a year? Dr. McCALL. From 35 to as many as 50. |