THE HAGERSTOWN CLAY. 11 



type, both in Virginia and Kentucky, the breeding of horses and of 

 mules has taken a considerable part in the development of the agri- 

 culture of the type. Heavy work stock and heavy farm tools are 

 requisite to the proper tillage of such a dense, compact soil. The 

 ordinary lightweight farm team can not possibly plow nor cultivate 

 the surface soil in such a way as to bring out the best properties of 

 this heavy clay soil. Where two or four mule or four-horse hitches 

 are used in plowing or harrowing the type a favorable seed bed con- 

 dition is produced, and large crops of corn, wheat, and grass may 

 be grown. Where the one-mule hitch or the lighter farm team is 

 employed it is only possible to scratch the surface of this heavy soil, 

 and adequate and proper returns can not be anticipated. 



There is considerable to be desired in connection with the equip- 

 ment of the Hagerstown clay in the majority of areas where it occurs. 

 The inherent properties of the soil itself mark it as one well fitted to 

 produce the grain and grasses which form the basis for an extensive 

 and profitable live-stock industry. In fact, the most profitable areas 

 of the Hagerstown clay encountered have been those where the pro- 

 duction of horses, mules, and beef cattle, and the feeding of dairy 

 stock have been most highly specialized. Thus the type, which con- 

 stitutes one of the heaviest of the general farming soils, is particu- 

 larly well suited to the stock-raising and dairy industries. 



SUMMARY. 



The Hagerstown clay is an extensive limestone valley soil occurring 

 throughout the valleys of the Appalachian Mountain region and of 

 the bluegrass region of Kentucky. 



The soil is particularly well suited to the production of wheat and 

 grass, and upon properly tilled areas corn is also an important and 

 profitable crop. 



The topography of the type is usually rolling and sloping and the 

 natural surface drainage is good. In all of the more northern areas 

 of its occurrence practically 75 per cent of the total area of the 

 Hagerstown clay is now occupied for cropping or for pasturage. In 

 other areas erosion has greatly reduced the extent to which the type 

 may be tilled. 



The Hagerstown clay is characteristically a small-grain and grass 

 soil, upon which the dairy industry should be developed to a high 

 degree. 



The planting of commercial orchards upon the type is not rec- 

 ommended. 



Approved. 



JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



WASHINGTON, D. C., March 6, 1912. 



