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2 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Those readers whose chief interest is in limited areas, such as some
particular locality, farm, or field, include the farmers, agricultural
technicians interested in planning operations in communities or on
individual farms, real estate agents, land appraisers, prospective purchasers
and tenants and farm loan agencies. The first step of a
reader in this group is to locate on the map the tract with which he
is concerned. The second step is to identify the soils on the tract.
This is done by locating in the legend on the margin of the map
the symbols and colors that represent the soils in the area. The third
is to locate the name of each soil in the Contents, which refers the
reader to the page or pages in the section on Soils and Crops where
each soil is discussed in detail. Under the soil-type heading he will
find a description of the soil and information as to its suitability for
use and its relationships to crops and agriculture. He also will find
useful information in the sections on Productivity Ratings and Land
Uses and Agricultural Methods.
The second group includes persons who are interested in the county
as a whole, such as those concerned with land use planning, the placement
and development of highways, power lines, urban sites, industries,
community cooperatives, resettlement projects, private or public
forest areas, recreational areas, and wildlife projects. The following
sections are intended for such users: (1) County Surveyed, in which
such topics as physiography, vegetation, water supply, population,
and cultural developments are discussed; (2) Agricultural History
and Statistics, in which a brief history of the agriculture of the area
is given and the present agriculture is described; (3) Productivity
Ratings, in which the productivity of the soils is given and a grouping
of soils according to their relative physical suitability for agricultural
use is presented; (4) Land Uses and Agricultural Methods,
in which the present use and management of the soils are described,
their management requirements are discussed, and suggestions for
improvement in management are made; and (5) Irrigation, Drainage,
and Salinity, in which the problems pertaining to those subjects are
treated.
The third group of readers includes students and teachers of soil
science and allied subjects, such as crop production, forestry, animal
husbandry, economics, rural sociology, geography, and geology. The
teacher or student of soils will find the section on Morphology and
Genesis of Soils of special interest. He will also find useful information
in the section on Soils and Crops, the first part of which represents
the general scheme of classification and a discussion of the soils
and crops from the point of view of the county as a whole, and the
second part of which presents a detailed discussion of each soil. If
he is not already familiar with the classification and mapping of soils
he will find that discussed in Soil Survey Methods and Definitions.
The teachers of other subjects will find the sections County Surveyed,
Agricultural History and Statistics, and Productivity Ratings, and
the first part of the section on Soils and Crops of particular value in
determining the relationships between their special subjects and the
soils in the county. Soil scientists or students of soils as such will
find their special interest in the section on Morphology and Genesis
of Soils.