Everything (Well, Almost) You've Always Wanted to know About Your Land

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Once you have a clear understanding of how to read a topo map, you can learn lots of useful facts about your land. The information can help you decide where to erect buildings and plant crops . . . by showing each prospective site's steepness, directional exposure, erosion patterns, and soil drainage. It's best to use a "7 1/2-minute series" map, which will provide the greatest detail among those types commonly available. (The scale of such a drawing is 1:24,000, meaning that every inch on the map equals 24,000 surface inches, or 2,000 feet.)

You can usually order a topographic map from the Division of Geology in the state where your acreage is located . . . but you may have to request an index first, to help you figure out exactly which sectional map (or maps) will cover your land. We simply wrote to the state capitol building in Nashville, Tennessee and received an index to topographic maps for 25¢. The full-sized topo chart we ordered later cost us $1.25. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Charges for topographic indexes and maps vary from state to state Thedocuments are often for salt, in office supply awl backpacking stores, too.

SOIL SURVEY MAPS

After you've become familiar with the lay of your land, you'll probably want to learn something about the composition of its earth . . . and that's when a soil survey map can come in mighty handy. Offices of the USDA's Soil Conservation Service are located in most county seats (as well as, sometimes, in other large towns), and the folks there will provide you with information on the type of soil that's found on your acreage. In some cases, you can simply write to the office and receive a free information packet (as we did), but many states haven't completed their surveying yet. If that's the case, you'll have to stop by the building to look at preliminary maps. You might also find a reference copy of the county soil survey in the public library.

The package we received contained a comprehensive set of four maps covering every quadrant of the particular county we were interested in . . . Plus a book that explained the symbols used and described the different soil varieties found in the region. Most soil survey maps are about 32" X 38", and they look something like topographic maps. (In fact, soil survey markings are sometimes printed right on top of the same aerial photographs used when making topo maps.) Instead of contour lines, however, an "earth map" shows the irregular outlines of each soil group.

The copies we received further differentiated among the various types by using a system of color coding. Each soil "family" is also identified by its own letter designation and examined in detail in the booklet accompanying the map. By consulting both references, then, you'll be able to find out how the soil was formed, what nutrients it contains, what its physical characteristics are, andprobably most important for your purposes—what crops it's best suited to support . . . along with any special cultivation requirements it may have and climatic data for the area. In addition, you can even learn what trees are likely to be found on your land, and many soil surveys will actually tell you what agricultural crops have been grown there in the past!

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