SOILS 55 



This is probably the best tomato soil in Chester county, 

 but because of its location and other general reasons it is 

 not used so extensively as the Chester loam in forcing 

 either tomatoes or carnations. The following table shows 

 a mechanical analysis of the Chester loam : 



Fine gravel 3.3 



Coarse sand 7.5 



Medium sand 3.3 



Fine sand 8.9 



Very fine sand 9.3 



Silt 48.2 



Clay 19.8 



This soil contains enough sand to make it fairly satis- 

 factory for tomatoes and cucumbers. It is regarded as a 

 good soil for general farm crops rather than for special 

 crops, though it produces probably half of the greenhouse 

 tomatoes sold in Philadelphia. 



Ashtabula soils. The soils of the Ashtabula forcing 

 district belong to the Glacial Lake and River Terrace 

 group, and to the Dunkirk series, the Dunkirk sandy loam 

 being the best of the series for vegetable forcing. This 

 soil is from 6 to 10 inches deep, with a subsoil of medium 

 or fine sand. Both the soil and subsoil contain scattered 

 pebbles, which are not objectionable in the forcing of 

 vegetables. The following is a mechanical analysis of a 

 sample of Dunkirk sandy loam : 



Organic matter 2.23 



Gravel 0.80 



Coarse sand 3.44 



Medium sand 3.90 



Fine sand 42.70 



Very fine sand 26.14 



Silt _. 13.02 



Clay 9.80 



It should be noted that the sample was selected out of 

 doors and not in the greenhouse, and this accounts for 



