THE SASSAFRAS SILT LOAM. 7 



and commodious farm buildings requisite. These exist in New Jersey 

 and on the Maryland-Delaware Peninsula, where the soil type is most 

 profitably tilled. The storage of grain, hay, and straw and the 

 proper housing of tools and work stock, even in the absence of the 

 dairy industry or of cattle breeding, require the more elaborate equip- 

 ment of buildings and barns. 



Thus the nature of the soil and its characteristic properties deter- 

 mine the character of the best farm equipment in the form of work 

 stock, machinery, and buildings. 



CROP ADAPTATIONS. 



The Sassafras silt loam is probably the best general farming soil 

 to be found in the Coastal Plain regions. Its level surface, its soft, 

 friable surface soil when properly handled, the considerable depth of 

 both surface soil and subsoil, and the adequate drainage features of 

 the type all tend to render it suitable for the production of the prin- 

 cipal farm crops of the latitude in which it occurs. 



The Sassafras silt loam is well suited to the production of corn. 

 The dent varieties are principally grown, and the yields obtained 

 depend upon the previous preparation of the land and its treatment 

 for a series of years. Where the land has been properly manured 

 with stable manure, where lime has been applied at least once in the 

 rotation, where a regular rotation of crops has been practiced for a 

 considerable period of time, the yields of shelled corn range from 

 50 to 80 bushels per acre. The latter 3 7 ield, of course, is only secured 

 by the best farmers under the most favorable circumstances. It is 

 probable, however, that the average yield for the type upon well-tilled 

 areas will be in excess of 50 bushels per acre. Corn is grown not only 

 for the shelled grain, but also for silage purposes, particularly in 

 southern New Jersey. Yields of silage corn frequently exceed 12 

 tons per acre, although the average yield may be stated at from 10 to 

 12 tons. 



The Sassafras silt loam is almost universally used, also, for the 

 production of winter wheat. In the more northern areas, especially 

 in southern New Jersey, wheat yields from 20 to 2'5 bushels per acre, 

 and yields of 35 and even 38 bushels are not infrequently secured 

 when the land is in the best condition and the season is favorable. A 

 good grade of hard winter wheat is produced, and even though the 

 value of the land is unusually high the excellent yield of wheat and 

 its good quality warrant its production upon the Sassafras silt loam. 



Although oats are not seeded so extensively as wheat upon the 

 Sassafras silt loam, still the yields per acre are good wherever the 

 crop is grown. In some of the eastern Maryland counties yields of 

 40 to 50 bushels per acre of oats are reported, and it may be said that 

 a yield of 35 to 45 bushels may normally be expected. 



