170 THE SOILS OF PRINCE GEOEGE S COUA'TY 



The ISTorfolk loam consists of a very fine sandy loam soil, having a 

 depth of from 12 to 20 inches. The snbsoil consists of a reddish, 

 sticky loam, commonly considered a clay throughout the region. This 

 is underlain in turn by a fine, mealy gray sand at a depth that varies 

 from 32 inches to 5 or 6 feet from the surface. 



The rolling character of the area occupied by this soil type gives 

 rise to considerable variation in the texture of soil within single 

 fields. Upon level or slightly inclined hilltops the sandy soil attains 

 its greatest thickness and the gray sand, which constitutes the 

 deepest subsoil, rarely reaches within 40 inches of the surface. 

 Where the country is more rolling the surface sandy loam is thinner, 

 and on the steeper slopes the sticky subsoil is barely covered by a thin 

 layer of sandy loam. Frequently the gray sand reaches the surface 

 lower down the slope and becomes stained to a light yellow color upon 

 exposure to the atmosphere. 



The small streams which have their headwaters in this area are con- 

 tinually transporting small amounts of the sand and sandy loam 

 down their courses. This material, together with the outcroppings 

 of gray and yellow sand along the hill slopes, has been mapped as a 

 separate soil type. The Norfolk loam constitutes one of the soil types 

 best adapted to the production of the Maryland pipe-smoking tobacco. 

 For two hundred years this tobacco has been exported from southern 

 jMaryland, and the jSTorfolk loam, in Prince George's County and 

 adjoining areas, has produced the best grades of this tobacco from the 

 beginning to the present time. From 750 to 900 pounds of tobacco 

 are produced to the acre. Under weather conditions favorable to the 

 maturing and curing of the crop a bright "colory" leaf is produced, 

 which is noted in the foreign market for its free-burning qualities. 



The tobacco crop matures in about eighty or ninety days from the 

 time it is transplanted into the field. It is cut, removed to the barn, 

 and cured by natural processes without the intervention of artificial 

 heat. The value of the crop is therefore dependent upon the weather 

 conditions not only during its growth, but also throughout the long 

 process of curing and preparation for market. A more uniform 

 grade of tobacco has been produced by a few growers through the use 

 of open fires in the tobacco barns. A few attempts have also been 

 made at flue curing, but no definite results have yet been reached. 



