THE ORASTGEBURG SANDY LOAM. 9 



of pine has been cut in recent years and these are being rapidly 

 occupied for general farming purposes. In the northeastern por- 

 tions of Texas peach orcharding is also being established as one of 

 the principal industries upon the Orangeburg sandy loam. 



There are many thousands of acres of the type which may still 

 be occupied for the production of crops, particularly in the regions 

 west of the Mississippi River. There are also considerable areas 

 of the type now occupied for agricultural purposes, which because 

 of a steep slope and excessive erosion should no longer be used for 

 the production of tilled crops, but should be devoted to pasturage or, 

 in extreme cases, reforested. 



CROP ADAPTATIONS. 



Throughout the region where the Orangeburg sandy loam has 

 been developed agriculturally cotton is the dominant crop. In the 

 majority of areas where it has been encountered the common opinion 

 of the farmers is that this soil is better suited to cotton growing than 

 to the production of corn. This is usually explained by the fact 

 that cotton is more resistant to drought and is capable of continuing 

 its growth and fruiting during the late summer months at a time 

 when corn not infrequently suffers from lack of moisture. It is prob- 

 able that the prevalent methods of cultivation are also better suited 

 upon such a sandy soil to the production of cotton than of corn. 

 There* is a wide variation in the yield of cotton secured upon the 

 Orangeburg sandy loam, dependent chiefly upon the degree of effi- 

 ciency with which the soil is prepared and cultivated. Upon the 

 areas having a deeper sandy surface soil, especially where the organic 

 matter has been depleted through long years of one-crop tillage, 

 the yields of cotton are two-fifths of a bale or less per acre. In the 

 same communities fields where crop rotation, the restoration of or- 

 ganic matter, and proper tillage have been employed frequently yield 

 from one-half to three-fourths of a bale per acre, and under the most 

 favorable circumstances yields of over one bale per acre have been 

 reported. 



The recommendations for the general treatment of the type apply 

 with full force to the production of cotton, and it may be stated 

 with confidence that the prevention of erosion, the restoration of 

 organic matter, deeper plowing, and shallow mtertillage are requi- 

 sites for increased yields of cotton upon this and similar sandy types 

 of upland cotton soils. 



The acreage annually planted to corn upon the Orangeburg 

 sandy loam is considerably less than that devoted to cotton. Diffi- 

 culty is experienced with midsummer droughts under the usual 

 methods of tillage, and the yields of corn are generally low, ranging 

 from 10 to 15 or 20 bushels per acre. The latter yields are fre- 



