SOILS OF FENDER COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA. 



Normal monthly, seasonal, and annual temperature and precipitation at 



Charleston, 8. C. 



Average date of last killing frost in spring, March 3 ; of first in fall, November 30 ; date 

 of latest in spring, April 2 ; of earliest In fall, November 9. 



The normal rainfall is sufficient and properly distributed for all 

 crops suited to the region. Certain crops, however, are liable to 

 injury from lack of moisture on the more sandy soils during pro- 

 tracted dry seasons, and from soggy conditions on the flat, heavier 

 types in wet spells. Damage from these sources can be considerably 

 reduced by frequent shallo\v cultivation, by keeping up the organic 

 matter content, and in the case of flat land by proper ditching. 



AGRICULTURE. 



The native heavy growth of longleaf pine encouraged an early devel- 

 opment of the naval-stores industry in this general region. This 

 industry began to decline with the later inception of lumbering, and 

 at the present is of little importance. Large old-field p"ines are fre- 

 quently seen on the rimlike mounds of long-neglected tar pits. The 

 turpentine, tar, and lumber industries in their time occupied a con- 

 siderable share of attention on the part of the citizens of the county. 

 but with the practical disappearance of the first two and the decline 

 of the last, agriculture has been marked by a slow but steady devel- 

 opment. General farming, including the production of cotton, corn, 

 and rice, had attained considerable importance in this section long 

 before the organization of the county in 1876. 



[Cir. 20] 



