8 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



LIMITATIONS UPON SPECIAL, CROPS. 



The Susquehanna fine sandy loam has been chiefly developed as a 

 cotton and corn soil, and the special crops have only been grown in 

 a few areas where, the type occurs. In the eastern Texas timbered 

 belt, however, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and sorghum are all success- 

 fully grown, while limited areas produce watermelons and tomatoes. 

 The type is fairly well suited for the production of these crops and 

 they may well be grown for household use or to supply local market 

 demands. This soil, however, is not so well suited to the production 

 of truck crops as the members of either the Orangeburg or Norfolk 

 series, and its general use for such purposes can hardly be recom- 

 mended. The near presence of the stiff plastic clay subsoil makes the 

 type one which warms up rather slowly in the spring, while it is also 

 somewhat subject to drought during late midsummer. It is not. 

 therefore, a particularly good special-purpose soil. 



EXTENT OF OCCUPATION. 



There is great variation in the extent to which the Susquehanna 

 fine sandy loam is occupied for agricultural purposes. In the ma- 

 jority of the eastern areas only the more level portions of the type 

 have been occupied, while the more hilly areas, being subject to severe 

 erosion, have been left in forest. In Alabama only the best areas are 

 tilled and probably 75 per cent of the type remains uncultivated. In 

 northern Louisiana the timber has only been recently cleared from 

 large areas of the type which are being occupied for agricultural 

 purposes. With the exhaustion of the organic matter in the sur- 

 face soil, many of the fields are soon thrown out of cultivation, and 

 it is probable that not over one-third of the total area of the type in 

 the northern parishes is annually cultivated. In the northeastern 

 portion of Texas the type is more highly esteemed for agricultural 

 purposes and approximately one-half of it is annually planted to 

 crops. This arises particularly from the more level character of 

 the surface, but even in this region the steeper slopes remain un- 

 cultivated. 



There are large areas of the Susquehanna fine sandy loam capable 

 of cultivation which ma} 7 still be utilized for farming purposes. In 

 order that these may be profitably occupied, the requirements of the 

 soil with regard to deeper tillage, the maintenance of organic matter, 

 and the protection from erosion must be thoroughly understood. 



CROP ADAPTATIONS. 



Cotton is the principal crop produced upon the Susquehanna fine 

 sandy loam. The yields are uniformly low. ranging from one- 

 fourth to one-half bale in the majority of instances and probably 



