10 SOILS OP THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



Oats are grown almost universally upon the Cecil clay. The oat 

 crop is a summer crop in all of the more northern States, and under 

 the cooler climatic conditions produces yields ranging from 40 to 60 

 bushels per acre. The grain is thrashed for use upon the farm or for 

 sale. In some locations oats take the place of wheat as the small- 

 grain crop, although the latter is better suited to such a heavy and 

 dense soil as the Cecil clay. In the more southern regions the oats 

 are grown as a winter cover crop, and, as in the case of wheat, the 

 larger yields are only secured at the higher altitudes or under rather 

 unusual conditions of favorable tillage. The grain is sometimes 

 thrashed, yielding 15 to 30 bushels per acre, but it is more generally 

 grazed off or cut for hay. The production of oats, except as a winter 

 cover crop, upon the Cecil clay can scarcely be recommended farther 

 south than North Carolina. For the prevention of erosion, however, 

 the sowing of this crop upon fields from which cotton or corn has 

 been removed is to be recommended. 



The Cecil clay is the most important soil type for the production of 

 the dark fire-cured export tobacco and of an excellent quality of 

 plug-wrapper tobacco, which is used for domestic manufacture. In 

 Virginia and the northern counties of North Carolina the yields 

 range from 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre under ordinary methods of 

 tillage, although these yields may be increased to 1,500 pounds per 

 acre with better methods of fertilization and cultivation. The aver- 

 age yield obtained by the farmer is probably about 700 pounds per 

 acre. Tobacco is normally followed by wheat and the wheat by 

 clover. For the most successful tobacco production some leguminous 

 crops, such as clover or cowpeas, should be plowed under, and the 

 physical condition of the soil is still further improved by the applica- 

 tion of lime. Extensive experiments have been conducted for the 

 improvement of the yields of the dark fire-cured tobacco in the 

 Virginia-North Carolina section, and the results of this experimenta- 

 tion are summarized in Bulletin 46 of the Bureau of Soils, The Im- 

 provement of Virginia Fire-cured Tobacco. 



This bulletin shows conclusively that by the application of large 

 quantities of properly prepared mineral fertilizers the yield of to- 

 bacco may be increased to two or three times that ordinarily secured. 

 In order to obtain such results deep plowing of the land is requisite, 

 coupled with the incorporation of organic manures and with the 

 careful cultivation of the soil during the growing period of the crop. 

 The bulletin referred to demonstrates that increased returns from 

 the intensively cultivated crop pay for the increased cost of labor 

 and fertilizer, and result in a larger net profit to the grower than 

 that obtained under the ordinary methods employed in the dis- 

 trict. Not only this, but the intensive cultivation leaves the fields 

 in better condition for succeeding crops in the rotation and also re- 



