618 EXPEKIMENT STATION RECORD. 



with success are cabbage, onions, celery, lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, turnips, 

 and peppermint. Applications of potash and phosphatic fertilizers, and with 

 many crops lime, have been found especially profitable. Coarse stable manure 

 has also been used to advantage. 



Circular 68, Meadow. — The term meadow is here used to designate "those 

 low-lying, freciuently somewhat swampy areas found along stream courses and 

 tidewater embayments, which are subject to overflow and which are chiefly 

 devoted to pasturage and the production of hay, when used for agricultural 

 purposes, though usually occupied by trees and dense undergrowth when in 

 their natural condition." Meadow areas of this classiflcation have been sur- 

 veyed and mapped by the Bureau of Soils in 173 areas in 31 States, aggregat- 

 ing a total of 3,086,829 acres. 



The necessity for protection of these soils from overflow and for drainage is 

 pointed out. " In the more northern States the production of grass for mow- 

 ing or pasturage is the chief use made of the cleared meadow areas. Corn, 

 oats, and market-garden crops are also produced. In the Piedmont Plateau 

 region meadow constitutes some of the best corn soils of the region." In the 

 Southern States tlie areas are partly devoted to cotton, corn, sugar cane, Ber- 

 muda grass, lespedeza, and vegetables, with a growing tendency toward corn 

 and grass production. In the Central and north Central States these soils 

 constitute important grass, corn, and wheat lands. 



Circular 69, Marsh and Swamp. — The term swamp is here used to designate 

 all areas which in their natural condition are too wet for the production of 

 any crop. The word marsh designates low, wet, treeless areas usually covered 

 by standing water and supporting a growth of grass and rushes. The marsh is 

 subdivided into fresh water and tidal marshes. Soils of these classes have 

 been surveyed and mapped by the Bureau of Soils to the extent of 2,355,240 

 acres. 



The soils of these areas are well charged with organic matter and may be 

 mucliy or peaty. Drainage is the first requisite for their agricultural utiliza- 

 tion. In the Middle Atlantic States these soils, when reclaimed, are well 

 suited for the production of corn, cotton, and hay. Some of the tidal marsh 

 areas are devoted to the production of rice of a high quality. In the central 

 prairie States the reclaimed swamp lands constitute some of the most fertile 

 and productive of the corn, oat, wheat, and grass lands. 



The soils of Tripoli, P. Yinassa de Regny (Coltivatore, 58 {1912), Nos. 1, 

 pp. 4-8; 2, pp. 3S-'f2, fig. 1; S, pp. 70-73, figs. 3; J,, pp. 101-105, fig. 1; 5, pp. 

 135-138, fig. 1; 6, pp. 166-170, fig. 1; 7, pp. 197-301, figs. 2; 8, pp. 231-236, figs. 2; 

 abs. in. Intermit. Inst. Agr. [Rome], Bid. Bur. Agr. Intel, and Plant Diseases, 3 

 (1912), No. 6, pp. 1272-1275). — This is an account of observations on the typical 

 soils of Tripoli, viz, the oasis sand, the desert sand, and the soils of Cyrenaica. 

 The oasis sand is stated to be very fertile. The soil is decidedly sandy, being 

 composed of about 12 per cent gravel (over 1 mm. in diameter), 15 per cent 

 coarse sand (i to i mm.), with about 90 per cent of the remainder of colloidal 

 character. Of the soil material 46 per cent is soluble in hydrochloric acid. The 

 carbonates form about 43 per cent of the soil. 



The desert sand lies between the coast and the Jebel. The sand particles of 

 this soil exceed 71 per cent, whereas the colloidal material is below 29 i^er cent. 

 Scarcely 6.5 per cent of the soil is soluble in hydrochloric acid. This soil dif- 

 fers from the oasis sand in having a smaller percentage of coarse constituents 

 and of calcium carbonate. The proportion of these constituents, however, 

 increases gradually with the length of time that the soil has been under cultiva- 

 tion, the calcium carbonate being as high as 44 per cent in the older gardens 

 and as low as 2.5 per cent in the newer gardens. 



