THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM. 15 



The production of hemp or tobacco in Kentucky has but slightly 

 modified this rotation. In that locality either tobacco or hemp occu- 

 pies the acreage for the first year, or it may be divided between the 

 two crops. These crops are followed in the second year by corn, then 

 by wheat, and ultimately by two years to grass seeding. In Tennessee 

 the corn, wheat, and grass rotation is prevalent, while in northern 

 Alabama either cotton and corn in alternation or cotton, corn, and 

 wheat constitute the beginning of a rotation which will probably 

 become standardized with that of the more northern locations as the 

 grass-producing value of the soil comes to be appreciated. Thus the 

 Hagerstown loam almost universally maintains the old standard 

 rotation of corn, wheat, and grass which has been used for 200 years 

 upon portions of this type. It still excels the majority of the soils of 

 the United States hi the production of each of these crops. In Ken- 

 tucky the type has withstood 125 years of constant crop production 

 with little fertilization, and the yields now reported from considerable 

 areas do not differ from yields recorded in 1797 within the same areas. 

 This may be attributed to the excellent inherent characteristics of the 

 soil itself and to the persistent use of a rational crop rotation. Simi- 

 larly in eastern Pennsylvania this soil constitutes the mainstay of as 

 prosperous and perfect a general-farming system as can be found in 

 the United States. Here, also, known records of crop yields establish 

 the fact that these have been increased rather than decreased by two 

 centuries of well-regulated farming. It would be difficult to demon- 

 strate in any more conclusive way the fact of continued and even 

 increased soil efficiency when the best farming methods are applied to 

 the tillage of a naturally productive soil. 



FARM EQUIPMENT. 



The Hagerstown loam requires for its proper tillage, and easily sup- 

 ports by its crop production, the heavy farm teams which are required 

 for the best general-farming purposes. While the surface soil is friable 

 and easily tilled, its considerable depth requires the use of horses 

 weighing from 1,300 to 1,500 pounds apiece, either in the double teams 

 or in the 4-horse hitch which is common in Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

 and Virginia. In this connection the heavier plows arid tillage imple- 

 ments are also most economically used, in order to effect the deep 

 plowing and thorough tillage required by the type. Corresponding 

 with this portion of the equipment, the other farming tools and farm 

 machinery are usually strong, well built, and ample in size for farm 

 purposes. In some portions of the area occupied by the type it is 

 unusual to see less than a 4-horse team used, even for the most 

 simple purposes of the farm operations. 



Long years of successful tillage of this land have generally given 

 rise to such prosperity that the farm buildings upon the farms 



