The Soil Type as a Unit for Land Classification in the Tennessee Valley Area

One or more of a number of land classifications could be considered for the Tennessee Valley Area. The kind of land classification to be considered for this or any other area will depend largely upon the intended use of the classification, and the intended use or objective of the classification will largely determine the basis upon which it is to be made. In selecting a land classification or classifications of the Tennessee Valley Area for consideration on this occasion, the past and present uses made of the land cannot be ignored. It is significant that about ninetyfive per cent of these 86,000,000 acres of land is used for the production of useful plants—cultivated crops, pasture grasses, and forests. It is equally significant that this land has been so used ever since white men acquired it from the Indians. It is no less significant that every indication is to the effect that no appreciable part of the land will be used otherwise for a long, long time to come. It is, therefore, but natural that we concern ourselves more particularly with land classifications which carry significance to the use of land for the production of useful plants. Assuming that on this occasion we are content to consider only land classifications which are significant to the use of land for plant production, the remainder of this discussion will deal with the fitness of the soil type to serve as a unit for such land classifications. Inasmuch, however, as the extent to which the soil type can function as a unit for land classification depends not only upon the kind of classification attempted, but also upon the nature and degree of individuality possessed by the soil type itself, it is necessary to define the term soil type as used in this connection.