12 SOILS OF THE. EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



tillage. The fundamental cause for this lack of occupation still ex- 

 ists, and in some localities even to a more pronounced degree than in 

 the pioneer days. It is therefore scarcely possible that any greater 

 area of the Memphis silt loam may be successfully tilled than at 

 present. There is, however, an excellent opportunity for the more 

 intensive occupation of those portions of the type suited to tillage 

 purposes, and a beginning has already been made along these lines 

 in many areas where fruit growing, market gardening, and the pro- 

 duction of canning crops are made possible by adequate transporta- 

 tion facilities. Along the main lines of railroad extending from 

 Louisiana northward to the cities of the central States there are 

 many locations upon the Memphis silt loam which may become as 

 well known as Crystal Springs and Durant, Miss., for the produc- 

 tion of market-garden and truck crops. The first of these localities 

 is known as the greatest tomato-shipping point in the United States, 

 and it has maintained this preeminence for 25 years. At the second 

 point market gardening is of more recent development, but consider- 

 able areas are very profitably planted to the market-garden crops, 

 and the usefulness of the Memphis silt loam and its associated type, 

 the Richland silt loam, has been thoroughly demonstrated. 



CROP ADAPTATIONS. 



Taking into consideration the entire extent of its development, corn 

 constitutes the principal crop grown upon the Memphis silt loam. 

 Owing principally to differences in climatic surroundings, but also in 

 some degree to differences in cultural methods, the corn yields are 

 uniformly larger in the more northern regions occupied by the Mem- 

 phis silt loam, particularly in Illinois and Kentucky. The yields 

 range from 20 to 35 bushels per acre in these localities, giving an 

 average yield of about 25 bushels per acre through a long period of 

 years. In western Tennessee and in Mississippi corn is subordinate 

 in acreage to cotton, which constitutes practically the only other crop 

 grown upon the type. The yields are uniform!}' low, ranging from 

 10 to 20 bushels per acre and averaging about 18 bushels per acre in 

 Tennessee and not over 15 bushels per acre in Mississippi. Con- 

 sidering the inherent properties of the soil, these yields may only be 

 ascribed to one of two fundamental causes or to both operating to- 

 gether. The first of these would be climatic conditions unsuitable 

 to the 'product ion of the corn crop; the second, cultural methods 

 which were incompetent to bring out the best properties of the soil 

 for the production of this crop. In these more southern regions the 

 existence of certain well-tilled corn fields within the area of the 

 Memphis silt loam demonstrates beyond question that the avern^i 1 

 yields secured by the majority of farmers by no means measure the 

 capabilities of this soil for the production of corn. Where complete 



