The Bulletin 



23 



The large yields of corn and cotton secured by the best farmers indi- 

 cate what this soil is capable of producing when properly prepared, 

 manured, and fertilized. The type can be easily improved, and the im- 

 provement made is quite lasting on account of the retentiveness of the 

 red clay subsoil. One of the essential needs of this soil is a larger quan- 

 tity of humus, and this can be supplied by growing cowpeas, crimson 

 clover, vetch or soy-beans and by applying stable manure. It would be 

 well, especially on the areas where the clay comes near the surface, to 

 plow the land deeper, to secure a finer seed-bed, to subsoil occasionally, 

 and to give the crops better cultivation generally. A systematic rota- 

 tion of crops, so as to include cowpeas and other legumes, would also aid 

 in building up this soil to a state of high productiveness. 



The use of commercial fertilizers is more or less general. Mixtures 

 analyzing 8-2-2 or 8-3-3 are mainly used. Some farmers practice home 

 mixing of fertilizers, using cotton-seed meal, acid phosphate, and potash. 

 Applications of nitrate of soda are also made during the growing season 

 for cotton and corn. About 75 pounds per acre sown along the rows 

 early in July has been found profitable. ISTitrate of soda is also applied 

 with good results to wheat and oats in the spring. 



Land of this type varies greatly in price in different sections of the 

 county. In the southwest corner the best improved land brings about 

 $40 an acre, the roughtest from $15 to $25, while near Charlotte good 

 areas of the type may be had from $60 to $100 an acre. 



The following table gives the average results of analyses of the soil 

 and subsoil of the Cecil sandy loam : 



AVERAGE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF CECIL SANDY LOAM. 



AVERAGE MECHANICAL ANALYSIS. 



