THE NORFOLK SANDY LOAM. 7 



turned under. Unless this practice is followed there is a possibility 

 that the decomposition of the large amount of organic matter will 

 not proceed with sufficient rapidity to bring it into a desirable con- 

 dition before the roots of the succeeding crop reach to the points 

 where it has been accumulated. The application of burned stone 

 lime to the amount of 1,500 or 2,000 pounds to the acre will hasten 

 the process of decay, and there will be no difficulty in the use of the 

 green manure, if lime is applied, after it is plowed under, at a 

 period -of 10 days to two weeks before the succeeding crop is seeded 

 or planted. 



LIMITATIONS UPON SPECIAL CROPS. 



In the more northern areas where the Norfolk sandy loam occurs 

 it is possible to use this soil to the best advantage for such crops as 

 sweet potatoes, early Irish potatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, and 

 asparagus. All of these crops are suited to the climate and mature 

 at a sufficiently early date upon the Norfolk sandy loam to make 

 the type one of the best trucking soils. Further to the south, where 

 the climate is somewhat warmer and the season earlier, the Norfolk 

 sandy loam is hardly able to compete with the Norfolk sand, which 

 is the earliest trucking soil, or with the Norfolk fine sand, which 

 produces larger yields at about the same date that the crops would 

 be matured upon the Norfolk sandy loam. In the more southern 

 localities a large proportion of the extra early Irish potato crop is 

 produced upon the Norfolk sandy loam. In the more northern 

 areas where the total depth of the surface soil does not exceed 1 foot, 

 the Norfolk sandy loam is an excellent corn soil, particularly when 

 it is well tilled with reference to the maintenance of the moisture 

 supply. In the more southern areas, the corn yields decrease, due to 

 drought during the latter portion of the summer, and the type is 

 better suited to the production of cotton than of corn. There are, 

 therefore, certain variations in the proper uses of the soil type which 

 are dependent; primarily, upon climatic conditions. 



Wherever areas of the Norfolk sandy loam are located near to 

 large cities, which consume considerable amounts of vegetables at 

 all seasons of the year, it is probable that the best use for the type 

 is for market gardening. For trucking it is not so essential that 

 the land should be near large cities. It is only necessary that trans- 

 portation to the city markets should be reasonably swift and fre- 

 quent. Therefore, in all of the localities along the Atlantic seaboard 

 where the type is developed, a considerable trucking industry has 

 arisen upon the Norfolk sandy loam. The soil is not so early as the 

 Norfolk sand, nor does it produce quite such large crop yields as the 

 Norfolk fine sand or the Norfolk fine sandy loam. It is nevertheless 

 a valuable soil for vegetable production. 



