4 The Bulletin. 



Edgecombe farm 1 during this time. In comparative variety tests of 

 corn, with the number of varieties in the different tests varying from 

 eight to thirty-six, we have found the differences between the one yield- 

 ing the highest and the one the lowest amount of shelled corn per acre 

 in the individual test to range from 6.2 to 26.6 bushels. With cotton 

 the range of difference in the different tests has been all the way from 

 530 to 915 pounds of seed cotton per acre, when from seven to twenty- 

 six varieties were used in the different tests. It must not be forgotten 

 that the best distancing of any crop is principally dependent upon soil 

 fertility, while yield of variety is governed largely by soil fertility and 

 adaptability and by the rigidity with which selection of seed of desirable 

 characteristics has been made. 



LOCATION AND CHARACTER OE SOILS OF TEST FARMS. 



Edgecombe Farm. — This farm is located in Edgecombe County, about 

 midway between the towns of Tarboro and Rocky Mount, and about two 

 miles from Kingsboro, a station on the Atlantic Coast Line Railway. 

 The soil of this farm consists principally of sandy loam, with moder- 

 ately fine sand, underlain by a rather tenacious sandy clay subsoil at a 

 depth, generally, of from 8 to 12 inches. The subsoil is a moderately 

 good sandy clay, such as is found under the larger portion of the lands 

 of the eastern part of the State. This type of soil responds very rapidly 

 in remunerative crops to proper fertilization and cultivation, and repre- 

 sents a large and important part of the coastal-plain formation, which 

 comprises something like forty per cent of the total area of the State. 

 The types of soil on this farm are designated by the Bureau of Soils of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture as Norfolk sandy loam 

 and Norfolk fine sandy loam. 



Iredell Farm. — This farm, located in the Piedmont section of the 

 State, lies about one and one-half miles northwest of the corporate limits 

 of Statesville, and is bisected by the Statesville and Western Division 

 of the Southern Railway. The soils consist of Cecil clay and Cecil 

 sandy loam, which are the predominant types throughout the Piedmont 

 plateau. The surface soil of the Cecil sandy loam is a grayish brown 

 sandy loam, while that of the Cecil clay is a deep red tenacious clay. 

 Both are underlaid by a heavy red clay subsoil. These soils are natu- 

 rally strong and are susceptible of high productivity under judicious fer- 

 tilization and proper cultural management. They are especially adapted 

 to the growth of grains, grasses and clover. 



Transylvania Farm. — This farm is located at Blantyre, on the west 

 side of the French Broad River, twelve miles directly west of Hender- 

 sonville, and is situated on both sides of the Hendersonville and Lake 

 Toxaway branch of the Asheville and Spartanburg Division of the 

 Southern Railway. The farm embraces both valley and mountain-side 

 soils. The valley soil consists of a dark, heavy loam, containing organic 

 matter and a liberal supply of plant-food constituents; it is known as 

 Toxaway loam. This soil, which is typical of large areas of soil in the 

 French Broad Valley, is deep and fertile, and generally produces large 

 yields when not subject to too great overflows during the growing season. 



1 The results at the Edgecombe farm are taken for these comparisons because, it being the 

 oldest farm, we have data for a greater number of years. 



