12 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



upon old pasture lands which it is desired to bring under tillage. 

 The grain is sold for milling and large amounts are shipped out of 

 the area for this purpose. Grinding at local mills, where these are 

 properly equipped to produce a good grade of flour, would give rise 

 to the production of buckwheat middlings, high in protein, and 

 admirably suited to supplement the other feeds grown for the dairy 

 herd. The buckwheat crop is worthy of more careful attention in 

 planning crop systems for the Volusia silt loam. 



Only a small acreage of corn is attempted at the higher elevations 

 on the Yolusia silt loam, since above an altitude of 1,500 feet the 

 growing season for the crop is too short to permit the maturing of 

 grain in ordinary years, except upon particularly well-drained land. 

 At all elevations corn may be grown for silage if the flint varieties 

 like the King Philip or the Genesee River flint are planted. At the 

 lower elevations occupied by the Volusia silt loam, in northwestern 

 Pennsylvania and northeastern Ohio, corn constitutes one of the 

 crops grown in regular rotation, both for grain and silage. The 

 yields range from 30 to 45 bushels per acre of grain and from 8^ to 

 10 tons of silage per acre. 



A small acreage of Irish potatoes is grown upon nearly every farm 

 found on the Volusia silt loam. An area sufficient to produce pota- 

 toes for home use and sometimes a surplus for sale is planted 

 each year. In some portions of southern New York the crop has 

 become an important one upon a commercial scale. In the majority 

 of areas where the type has been encountered the special adaptation 

 of the Volusia silt loam, under proper conditions of management, to 

 the production of late Irish potatoes has been recognized. The tubers 

 are usually smooth and of good cooking quality. Where modern 

 methods of production are employed the yields range from 150 to 250 

 bushels per acre. Usually the crop is badly neglected and the general 

 average of the yields outside of the commercial potato-growing dis- 

 tricts ranges from 75 to 125 bushels per acre. The crop should con- 

 stitute the chief reliance of the farmers upon the Volusia silt loam for 

 sale as a money crop to supplement dairying or stock raising. 



In the more western areas of its occurrence a small acreage of 

 winter wheat is grown upon the Volusia silt loam giving yields rang- 

 ing from 12 to 20 bushels per acre. 



Formerly hops were grown to a limited extent upon this type in 

 central New York, but the crop has nearly disappeared at present. 



Nearly every farm upon the Volusia silt loam has a few apple 

 trees, planted to furnish a home supply of fruit. Frequently these 

 are neglected to the point of ruin, and very few apples are sold from 

 orchards upon this type. In all of the better-drained areas of the 

 Volusia silt loam, particularly in northwestern Pennsylvania and in 

 northeastern Ohio, where elevation and exposure are favorable, 



