SOILS FERTILIZERS. 617 



level to gently rolling. Most of the lands are in the Coastal Plains province, a 

 small part in River Hood Tlain provinoe. and there is a gradation from well- 

 draiued rolling lands to poorly drained swami)y flats. The sonthern and sonth- 

 ea.steru parts of the county are very poorly drained. The soils of the county 

 are grouped according to origin as sedimentary, alluvial, and colluvial, the first 

 greatly predominating. Twenty-seven types comprising eleven series and two 

 miscellaneous types are mapped and described, of which tlie Norfolk series is 

 the most extensive (over half of the total area). The Orangeburg sandy loam 

 covering about -1 per cent of the total area " is one of the strongest soils in the 

 county and most of it is under cultivation." About half the area of the county 

 is under cultivation, cotton being the most important crop. Commercial fer- 

 tilizers are usetl extensively but rotation of crops is not generally practiced 

 although followed on many farms. " The mellow character of the soils, coupled 

 with the favorable surface features, invites the use of all kinds of labor-saving 

 machinery." 



Soil sui'vey of Washington County, Texas, A. H. Meyer et al. (U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Adrancc SJtccts Field Operations Bur. Soils, 1913, pp. 31, fig. 1, map 1). — 

 This survey, issued January 2G, 1915, deals with an area of ?>!)2.320 acres in 

 southeastern Texas, the topography of which varies from level to rolling. 

 Drainage is said to be generally good. The soils of the area are of residual and 

 alluvial origin and range from a heavy waxy clay through a loam and sandy 

 loam to a loamy sand and fine sand. Five series, comprising eleven types, are 

 mapped. The Houston types cover about two-thirds of the county and of these 

 the black clay is the most extensive. It is stated that, although the agriculture 

 of the county is generally prosi)erous, little attention is given to the adaptation 

 of soils to crops and no system of crop rotation is followed. 



Better crop adaptations for the different types of soil are suggested. Farm 

 manure is generally used with very beneficial results. " There is a general need 

 for more thorough tillage, deeper plowing, and the conservation of soil 

 moisture." 



Soil survey of Boone County, West Virginia, W. J. Latimer ( U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Advance Sheets Field Operations Bxir. Soils, 1913, pp. 26, fig. 1, map 1). — ■ 

 This survey, made in cooperation with the West Virginia Geological Survey, was 

 issued February 10, 1915. It deals with an area of 323,840 acres in southwest- 

 ern West Virginia, the topography of which is rough and broken. Only about 25 

 Iier cent of the area is cleared. The northeastern part is drained by the Coal 

 River and the remainder mainly by the Little Coal River and its tributaries. 

 The soils of the county are grouped as upland or residual soils, terrace or second 

 bottom soils, and first bottom or overflow land. Eleven soil types, comprising 

 four series, and two miscellaneous types are mapped, of which the Dekalb stony 

 silt loam is the most extensive, covering 85.2 per cent of the county. The prin- 

 cipal crops grown are corn, oats, hay, potatoes, and vegetables. Very little com- 

 mercial fertilizer is used and no general system of crop rotation is practiced in 

 the county. 



The properties of soil grains and the plasticity of soils, A. Atteeberg 

 {KoUoidehem. Bcihefte, 6 {1914), No. 2-3, pp. 55-89, figs. 3; abs. in Jour. Chem. 

 Soc. [London], 106 {191^), Xo. 623, I, p. 1120).— The author takes the position 

 that mechanical analysis alone is not adequate for distinguishing the properties 

 of different classes of soils. It is deemed also necessary for this purpose to 

 have knowledge of the physical properties (hygroscopicity, pore space, capillar- 

 ity, water capacity, I'elation to root hairs, flocculation, Brownian movement, 

 etc.) of the different grades of soil particles. Moreover, many soils are rich in 

 ultramicroscopic bodies and the i)roperties of such soils will be determined 

 largely by the nature.and properties of the colloid bodies present. 



