THE NORFOLK FINE SAND. 11 



as the 10th of May, and continues the shipments for about one month. 

 Eastern South Carolina and the seaboard points in North Carolina 

 follow successively and the Norfolk region in Virginia begins the 

 shipment of potatoes during the first or second week in June. The 

 crop is also grown upon the same or similar soils on the eastern 

 shore of Maryland, in Delaware, and in southern New Jersey, thus 

 continuing the period during which potatoes are produced for the 

 early summer market. The last of the market garden crop in the 

 more Northern States is harvested immediately before the general 

 field crop raised throughout these States begins to mature and to 

 be ready for market. 



In the handling of the Norfolk fine sand for the production of 

 early Irish potatoes it is particularly essential that large quantities 

 of well-composted stable manure should be applied to the soil well in 

 advance of the planting season. It is also desirable that the soil 

 should have been occupied previously by some leguminous cover 

 crop, either cowpeas, winter vetch, or crimson clover being available 

 for this purpose. From these two sources of organic matter the 

 green crop plowed under, or the well-composted stable manure, or 

 both a fine loamy condition of the surface soil is produced, which 

 aids in the retention of the requisite moisture supply without inter- 

 fering with the warming up of the soil or with its production of an 

 early crop. In addition to the organic matter thus incorporated the 

 best growers use 1,000 pounds or more of a high-grade commercial 

 fertilizer which will analyze from 4 to 8 per cent of potash and from 

 G to 7 per cent of nitrogen. The usual amount of phosphoric acid, 

 ranging from 8 to 10 per cent, is also carried by these fertilizers. 

 There is a tendency on the part of many growers to prefer the sul- 

 phate of potash to any other form for the production of the potato 

 crop. Nitrate of soda frequently supplies the nitrogen, although 

 sulphate of ammonia goods are quite generally used by successful 

 growers. 



The Norfolk fine sand is also well suited to the production of sweet 

 potatoes, either as an early truck crop in the more northern locations, 

 or as a staple farm crop for marketing throughout the year in all 

 locations from Virginia southward. The sweet potatoes are started 

 in cold frames and transplanted to the field after the soil has been 

 prepared by turning in a good supply of well-rotted stable manure 

 in the bottom of the trench. This is covered lightly with the surface 

 soil and the plants are set in the soil. This method is general for 

 forcing the earliest sweet potatoes to maturity. The commercial 

 fertilizers are also used with this crop, but to a more limited extent 

 than with the early Irish potatoes. Yields of 100 to 150 bushels per 

 acre of the sweet potatoes are secured with good management. For 

 the later general crop, sweet potatoes may follow upon the same 



