THE VOLUSIA SILT LOAM. 7 



In its present condition large areas of the Volusia silt loam can 

 not be made to grow a crop of red clover until the soil has been 

 heavily limed. The use of lime is essential not only to correct 

 *' acidity " in the soil, but also to assist in the proper internal drain- 

 age of the surface soil through its granulating effect upon the soil 

 particles. It also favors the increase of the bacteria living upon the 

 roots of the leguminous crops, such as clover and peas, and is bene- 

 ficial to practically all crops grown upon the type. Only in the case 

 of Irish potatoes is the use of lime before the planting of the crop 

 liable to be harmful. 



The greater proportion of the Volusia silt loam would be markedly 

 benefited by acreage applications of not less than one ton of burned 

 stone lime, slaked and applied to the soil as it is being prepared for 

 seeding to oats and the grasses. Instead of the stone lime, two or 

 three tons of finely ground limestone or pulverized marl may be used 

 where these sources of lime are cheaper in the equivalent quantities 

 than the burned lime. The lime should be applied from 10 days to 

 2 weeks before the seeding of the la-nd is attempted and thoroughly 

 harrowed into the surface soil to a depth of 2 or 3 inches. It should 

 be used once in a regular crop rotation of five or six years. 



The surface soil of the Volusia silt loam is frequently deficient in 

 organic matter, as shown by the pale gray or ashy color of plowed 

 fields. Continued cropping to hay and grain without the use of any 

 large amounts of stable manure has been largely responsible for the 

 present condition of the soil. In other instances the lack of perfect 

 drainage and consequent poor aeration Ijave resulted in the decay and 

 disappearance of the vegetable matter from the surface soil. The 

 restoration of organic matter is, therefore, one of the problems of its 

 most effective management. In extreme cases, where a run-down field 

 must be built up to a normal condition, buckwheat may be sown in 

 midsummer and allowed to make a good growth until it comes into 

 blossom. This mass of vegetation may then be plowed under as a 

 very effective step in the restoration of humus to the soil. It is a 

 good plan to apply lime to the soil immediately after a large mass 

 of organic matter has been plowed under, especially if a small-grain 

 crop is to be sown. 



Winter rye may be sown as a cover crop and pastured during the 

 spring months. Later it may be plowed under and a hoed crop 

 potatoes or corn planted. This method is effective upon the steeply 

 sloping .lands where protection from erosion during the fall and 

 spring is desirable. 



No better method for maintaining the organic matter content of the 

 Volusia silt loam could be devised than the feeding of the crops pro- 

 duced and the restoration of the stable manure to the soil. When 

 this system is regularly practiced and the land is limed to give a 



