8 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



the general farm crops. It has been found that the muriate of potash 

 gives particularly good results upon this and certain associated soil 

 types. 



CROP ADAPTATION. 



Important uses in the Middle Atlantic section. The Norfolk 

 fine sandy loam is adapted to the production of both the yellow and 

 white varieties of dent corn and they are grown almost universally 

 in the Middle Atlantic section. Upon properly prepared land the 

 yields secured by the best farmers vary from 20 to 35 bushels per 

 acre, while upon land that has received less careful preparation the 

 yield may sink as low as 12 to 15 bushels per acre. If proper methods 

 of tillage and fertilization are followed, however, there is no neces- 

 sity for the lower yields, and yields greatly in excess of those re- 

 ported may be secured. It is not the equal of the Portsmouth silt 

 loam as a corn soil, although excelling most of the other soils of the 

 section in this respect. Cowpeas are grow r n either as an independent 

 forage crop or else sown with the corn. Where the crop is grown 

 alone yields of If to 2 tons of cowpea-hay may be secured. If the peas 

 are thrashed, yields of 10 to 12 bushels per acre may be obtained. The 

 use of cowpeas, either sown alone or between the rows of corn, is 

 gradually being extended throughout the section. It gives rise not 

 only to the production of an excellent forage crop, but also tends to 

 increase the crop-producing power of the soil for other crops grown 

 in the rotation. 



The Norfolk fine sandy loam is one of the best soils which can be 

 found in the Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain for the production of 

 the bright lemon-yellow cigarette tobacco. The yields of this tobacco 

 range from about 500 pounds to 1,200 pounds per acre. The latter 

 yields are only secured upon the more loamy phases of the type, and 

 where the land has been carefully prepared and well fertilized. The 

 smaller yields are usually secured upon portions of the type where 

 the depth to the sandy clay subsoil exceeds 24 inches, or where the 

 soil has been badly managed and insufficiently fertilized. 



The Norfolk fine sandy loam is well adapted to the production of 

 peanuts, and they are coming to be extensively grown in eastern Vir- 

 ginia and eastern North Carolina. Both the Spanish variety and 

 the Virginia variety are grown. The former produces from 30 to 

 60 bushels of nuts per acre ; the latter from 50 to 100 bushels. Pea- 

 nuts are grown in this section principally for the nuts, although 

 some farmers are using the nuts and vines for fattening hogs, intro- 

 ducing the crop into their regular rotation for this purpose and for 

 the purpose of increasing the crop-producing power of the soil. 



Cotton is raised to a limited extent in extreme southern Virginia 

 and extensively throughout eastern North Carolina upon the Norfolk 





