6 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



either upon ground already prepared for corn or upon the land pre- 

 pared for oats immediately prior to the seeding in of grass and 

 clover. In any case, when the burned lime is used, an interval of at 

 least 10 days should elapse between the application of the lime and 

 any seeding. 



Both drainage and liming are necessary as preliminary steps to 

 the incorporation of larger quantities of organic matter in the sur- 

 face soil. Throughout the region where the Volusia loam occurs, 

 dairying is the chief agricultural occupation, and stable manure the 

 main source of organic matter. On many farms it is caref ulty saved 

 and regularly applied to the corn crop. In too many cases it is al- 

 lowed to accumulate during the winter and is applied in the spring 

 in a badly leached condition. The immediate application of manure 

 as it is made or, if this is not possible, the storing of the manure in a 

 manure shed is essential to preserve the liquid portion, containing 

 a large part of the ammonia. Manure, thus saved and applied, is 

 the best form of organic matter for the maintenance of the fertility 

 of the Volusia loam. In addition to the stable manure it is a good 

 practice to use some form of phosphoric acid as a mineral fertilizer 

 upon this soil. On dairy farms the ground phosphate rock, or floats, 

 may be used as an absorbent in the stable and the requisite amount 

 of phosphoric acid easily applied. The use of acid phosphate for the 

 same purpose has been successful. 



Upon farms where the sale of grass and grain takes the place of 

 the more common dairy farming it is essential to adopt other 

 methods for the maintenance and restoration of organic matter. The 

 best green manuring crop for the Volusia loam is clover plowed under 

 as a preparation for the production of corn. In order to secure the 

 clover stand, the soil must be limed and some form of phosphoric acid 

 applied in the majority of cases. The first crop may be cut as hay 

 and the second, or rowen crop, turned under. This method presup- 

 poses a rather short crop rotation in which a corn crop is followed by 

 a small grain and that by a stand of clover or mixed timothy and 

 clover. 



In extreme cases, where it is necessary to rejuvenate poorly farmed 

 land, buckwheat may be sown in midsummer and plowed under in 

 the fall when about 1 foot high. It furnishes a considerable amount 

 of green manure which is easily decomposed in the soil. This prac- 

 tice is best suited for farms where potatoes are grown as a money 

 crop, as a profitable crop of the latter may be expected when buck- 

 wheat has been plowed into the land. 



Upon the majority of farms on the Volusia loam the present system 

 of crop rotation is not well suited to maintain the soil fertility. Corn 

 is followed by oats with which mixed timothy and clover are seeded. 

 The meadows are then cut for a period ranging from three to five 



