A Cooperative Method of Mapping Land Utilization

A Cooperative Method of Mapping Land Utilization F. G. DALE State Teachers College, Wayne, Nebraska The mapping of land utilization as a school project is a relatively new development in the field of geography and during the last decade has made considerable progress in the field of education. Wayne County, Nebraska, is well adapted for a project of mapping land utilization. It is located in the northeastern part of Nebraska and has an area of 450 square miles. It is near the center of the Loess Hill Area where the land is gently rolling but not too rough to interfere greatly with general farming. The county contains eighty-five school districts, which serve well as units for the project as they are all about the same area. There are roads on practically every section line regardless of topography, thereby setting off each section as a definite unit. Every section of the county is used for general farming 'and no section has less than fifty per cent of the land under cultivation. The type of agriculture of the county is characteristic of the corn-belt. Corn is the main crop and it occupies about fifty per cent of the cultivated area. Corn is followed in acreage by oats and alfalfa. The distribution of crops is much the same throughout the county and the legend suitable for one part is also suitable in all other parts. Local preliminary surveys of land utilization were carried out by two classes of college freshmen. Each member of the two classes was required to map one section of land within the county. The two classes were given different classifications for land uses in order that the two systems could be tested in the field and the results compared. From these preliminary surveys the crop legends were chosen for the project in the rural schools of the county. Each of the eighty-five schools of the county received the following: 1. Outline map of their respective school district drawn to the scale of four inches to thé mile. 2.One dozen mimeographed section maps for pupils' use. 3.An ideal section map complete with the primary and secondary symbols added. 4.A box of pencil colors for the map work. 5.A letter of instructions for the development of the survey of the district. The plan of mapping was explained to the rural school teachers at their annual county teachers' institute. The plan presented to the teachers involved six important steps, namely: 1.That each pupil was to fill in the outline map of his home section where possible. 2.If it happened that there were sections in the school district which were not represented among the pupils, these sections were to be assigned to those who were most interested and capable of doing the mapping. 3.If there were enough pupils, several could be assigned the same sections to map and then comparisons made as to accuracy. 4.Pupils of the seventh and eighth grades were to do the field maping, unless their numbers were insufficient, then sixth grade pupils might help. 5.The teacher was to map the area near the school with the class for the purpose of group instruction . 6.When the pupils had completed their section maps, the teacher was asked to transfer the data to the large map of the district. The first completed map was returned in three weeks and at the end of two months, 42 district maps were received. In all, ¦ fifty-four completed maps were received by the director of the survey. The mapping project received much favorable comment from the people of the districts and those who helped the youngsters in the mapping ex- (32) pressed ' many comments of praise. Favorable letters were received from a number of teachers. Several teachers said that due to the interest shown by the pupils in developing the survey , they had made further studies of their districts. The limitations of the project on the mapping of Wayne County or perhaps one may say any county project of this type, are quite large in number. Among them the following may be listed : 1. The project being voluntary with the schools, the...