SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE II. 

 THE NORFOLK FINE SAND. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



The Norfolk fine sand is distributed through the Coastal Plains 

 soil province in both the Atlantic and Gulf regions from southern 

 Virginia to eastern Texas. A total area of 1,595,072 acres of this 

 type, occurring in 46 different areas located in 11 different States, 

 has been covered by the detailed soil surveys of the Bureau of Soils. 

 The Norfolk fine sand is found only within the Coastal Plain Prov- 

 ince of the United States. It occurs at elevations which vary from 

 just above sea level to an extreme altitude of about 350 feet. The 

 greater part of the type lies at an elevation between 25 feet and 150 

 feet above sea level. It is found chiefly in the vicinity of tidewater 

 and in the lower lying areas which extend back from 50 to 75 or more 

 miles from the coast line. The total geographical extent of the Nor- 

 folk fine sand covers several million acres, as has been shown by the 

 large area of this soil type encountered in the soil surveys which 

 have already been made. The Norfolk fine sand is not essentially a 

 strong general farming soil, but its particular adaptation to the pro- 

 duction of early truck crops in regions where transportation to mar- 

 ket is possible renders it an extremely important soil throughout the 

 seaboard section. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SOIL AND SUBSOIL. 



The surface soil to a depth of 8 or 10 inches is a brown, gray, or 

 pale-yellow fine sand. It is usually loose and incoherent, although 

 in its virgin state and in uncultivated fields it is liable to be somewhat 

 compacted at the surface. The subsoil from an average depth 

 of about 10 inches to a depth of 36 inches or more is a yellow or 

 pale-yellow fine sand, which is always loose and incoherent. Below 

 3 feet this yellow fine sand usually grades into a fine sandy clay at 

 varying depths. In fields which have been subject to clean cultivation 

 for a considerable period of time the surface soil may be light gray 

 or almost white in color. In newly cleared fields, or in those where 

 care has been taken to maintain the organic matter content of the 

 soil the surface coloration is usually brown or some shade of yellow. 



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