THE HAGERSTOWN CLAY. 9 



CROP ADAPTATIONS. 



The Hagerstown clay is best suited to the production of the small 

 grains and of grass. It is probable that wheat occupies a larger 

 acreage than any other single grain crop grown upon this soil. The 

 yields produced vary considerably, depending upon the condition in 

 which the soil has been kept and the skill of the individual farmer. 

 In the more northern regions, particularly in the Shenandoah Valley, 

 the wheat yields range from 20 to 35 bushels per acre, with an aver- 

 age of about 25 bushels. This high yield is the result of careful 

 tillage methods and crop rotation. In other more southern areas, 

 where the surface of the type is rougher or more steeply sloping and 

 where a careful crop rotation is not so generally practiced, the yields 

 of wheat range from 15 to 25 bushels per acre, which constitutes a 

 high average yield for any soil type under the climatic conditions 

 attendant upon wheat production in that region. The Hagerstown 

 clay may therefore be characterized as a very valuable wheat soil 

 upon which high yields may be maintained through some attention 

 to the careful rotation of crops. 



It is probable that grass occupies a greater area upon the Hagers- 

 town clay than all other crops combined. Grass is grown not only 

 for hay, but also over wide areas of almost permanent pasture. For 

 the hay fields, a mixture of clover and timothy is seeded in the 

 regular rotation, the yields of hay ranging from 1| to 2^ tons per 

 acre, dependent somewhat upon seasonal conditions and also to a 

 considerable extent upon the care with which the land has been pre- 

 pared before seeding. The bluegrass pastures on the Hagerstown 

 clay are second only to those of the Hagerstown loam. Since a 

 larger proportion of the total area of the Hagerstown clay is given 

 over to pasturage than of its associated loam type, it is probable that 

 the bluegrass pastures of the Hagerstown clay are fully a's im- 

 portant as any other agricultural occupation of the type, with the 

 possible exception of hay production. The bluegrass attains this 

 maximum development in the second or third year from the time 

 when it is seeded in. Then, if the pasture is not too heavily stocked, 

 the stand of bluegrass will last for a number of years with only 

 slight attention. In fact, in many areas the bluegrass naturally 

 invades the field and no seeding is attempted upon the pasture land. 

 Better grass .stands may be secured by an occasional top seeding upon 

 the sod, thus thickening the stand. 



Corn is the other important crop of general production upon the 

 Hagerstown clay. Its yields vary considerably in the different areas 

 where the type has been encountered. Wherever the surface soil 

 possesses a depth of 6 to 8 or 10 inches above the clay, the yield of 

 corn is unusually high, ranging from 40 to 75 bushels per acre. Upon 



