18 The Bulletin 



in some places they become hilly and broken. There are many level and 

 gently rolling interstream areas which lie well for farming operations, 

 but which become rough, hilly, and broken as the streams are ap- 

 proached. The many small streams having their source in this type 

 have cut deeply into the clay subsoil, and thus affected the topog- 

 raphy. The surface is sufficiently rolling to insure the best natural 

 drainage, except in a few slight depressions, and even these can be easily 

 drained by ditches or tile drainage. Terracing is practiced on the slopes 

 to prevent washing and gullying. 



The Cecil clay loam has been formed from the disintegration and de- 

 composition of granites, gneisses, and schists. These rocks are com- 

 posed largely of feldspar, quartz, mica, and hornblende. The feldspar 

 forms the clay, the quartz is left as sand, the mica as small scales, while 

 the iron compounds have oxidized, giving the red color to the soil and 

 subsoil. The narrow quartz veins occasionally found in the subsoil and 

 the quartz fragments on the surface being harder have withstood the 

 forces of weathering. Perhaps 70 per cent of this type is cleared and 

 under cultivation and only patches of the original growth of white, post, 

 red, and chestnut oak, hickory, heart pine, some poplar, dogwood, sour- 

 wood, and cedar remain. Old field pine is commonly seen on abandoned 

 fields, which have reforested naturally. 



The Cecil clay loam is particularly adapted to the production of 

 corn, cotton, wheat, oats, clover, cowpeas, and dairy farming near Char- 

 lotte; and the more sandy areas of the type to strawberries, potatoes, 

 cabbage, tomatoes, and truck crops, and also small fruit and tree fruit. 

 Cotton and corn are the two important crops, the corn being grown as 

 a subsistence crop for Avork stock and cotton being produced as a money 

 crop. Cotton yields from one-third to one bale per acre; corn from 15 

 to 35 bushels. As much as 60 to 75 bushels has been secured by deep 

 plowing, good cultivation, the growing of cowpeas, and a liberal appli- 

 cation of fertilizer. Wheat yields from 10 to 20 bushels, oats from 20 

 to 50 bushels, and cowpeas from 1 to 2 tons of hay or from 12 to 25^ 

 bushels of shelled peas per acre. Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, 

 tomatoes, sweet corn, turnips, beans, strawberries, and garden vegetables 

 are grown successfully both for market and for home use. Red clover, 

 crimson clover, vetch, and soy-beans are grown to a limited extent. 

 Some sorghum sirup is produced, and also small quantities of apples, 

 peaches, pears, cherries, and figs. 



The Cecil clay loam should be plowed a little deeper each year until 

 a depth of 10 or 12 inches is secured. Plowing should preferably be 

 done in the fall, and with subsoiling occasionally practiced to break up 

 the compact subsoil. The type requires more harrowing than the lighter 

 types to give a fine seed-bed, and cultivation must be frequent in order 

 to prevent the formation of a crust and consequent loss of moisture. By 

 following these practices a deeper zone for root development is secured, 

 more plant food is made available, nnd a better supply of moisture main- 

 tained during dry seasons. Better internal drainage also will be estab- 



