264 PHYSIOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF THE COASTAL PLAIN PROVINCE. 



the older formations affect the character of the soils even where they do not 

 appear at the surface. 



Sands, clays, loams, and gravels constitute largely the surface materials 

 and from these most of the soils have been derived. The United States 

 Bureau of Soils has differentiated a great many soil types in the Coastal 

 Plain but these may be classed under four heads — clay soils, loam soils, 

 sand and gravel soils, and swamp and flood-plain soils. 



The heavy clay soils form a narrow belt in the northwestern part of 

 the Coastal Plain, being well developed trom Fredericksburg to Washington. 

 The soils which are plastic and usually red in color are formed from the 

 Potomac deposits and are of little value for agricultural purposes. Most 

 of the region is covered with scrub pine though some areas are under 

 cultivation. Cucumbers can be raised more profitably on this type of soil 

 than almost any other crop and to the north of Fredericksburg they are 

 extensively grown. 



The loam soils include those soil types which are more specifically 

 referred to as the clay loams and sandy loams. The former are very 

 extensively developed over the divides in the central and western portions of 

 the Coastal Plain and occur in smaller areas in the eastern parts of the 

 region. These soils are formed from the clay loam facies of the Lafa3'ette 

 and Columbia deposits and are among the most productive soils of the 

 region. They are well adapted to the cultivation of grass, hay, small grain 

 and corn. They are less productive in regions where the sand constitutes 

 a large part of the soils producing a sandy loam and such areas are usually 

 covered with pine forests. 



The soils largely composed of sand have their greatest development in 

 the extreme eastern part of the State and although naturally less productive 

 than the loam soils are yet far more important because of the early maturity 

 of the crops. The great trucking regions of the State occupy the eastern 

 portion of the Coastal Plain and here are grown enormous quantities of 

 early vegetables and potatoes for the AVashington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, 

 New York, and Boston markets. In some places the soil itself is con- 

 sidered as little more than a medium in which the artificial fertilizers 

 can be held, as the nourishment for the plants consists almost entirely of 

 these added products. The loose open textures of the soils permit easy 

 underground drainage which tends to hasten the maturity of the crops. 



The swamp and flood-plain soils constitute several distinct soil types 

 in which there is a large admixture of vegetable humus. These are the 

 richest soils of the Coastal Plain aiul are developed on the low lands 



