THE OEANGEBUEG FINE SANDY LOAM. ( 



This favorable location of the Orangeburg fine sandy loam, coupled 

 with its inherent individual characteristics, renders it one of the 

 most valuable of the upland soils of the Gulf region. 



IMPROVEMENT IN SOIL EFFICIENCY. 



The greatest improvement in the agricultural efficiency of the 

 Orangeburg fine sandy loam can probably be secured through proper 

 attention to the prevention of erosion of its surface. In many areas 

 where the soil has been mapped, particularly in the inland belts and at 

 the higher elevations, the deforestation of considerable areas has ac- 

 celerated erosion. The erosion has principally been marginal through 

 the cutting back of the multitude of smaller streams on the steep 

 slopes. This could be largely avoided by the construction of brjish 

 dams or other obstructions across the heads of gullies and around the 

 margins of tilled fields to prevent the bodily washing away of the 

 surface soil and subsoil. 



The wasting of the land area of the type must be prevented. The 

 reforestation of considerable areas of the steeper slopes and the 

 prevention of additional gullying constitutes one of the most im- 

 portant needs of the Orangeburg fine sandy loam. Each individual 

 farmer should take the utmost care that all of his tillage operations 

 tend toward contour farming and the terracing of the fields to 

 prevent destructive wash across the surface of even gentle slopes. 

 Deeper plowing of the soil is imperative. The absorption of large 

 amounts of rainwater falling within a brief period of time is impos- 

 sible unless the surface soil is open and friable to a considerable 

 depth. The producing capacity of the Orangeburg fine sandy loam 

 is almost universally increased by deeper plowing, provided this be 

 done gradually at the rate of about 1 inch each year. Usually this 

 soil is not plowed over 3 inches deep on the majority of cotton farms 

 within the area where it is found. This depth should gradually be in- 

 creased until at each breaking the surface soil has been plowed to 

 at least 8 or 9 inches. Upon fields where this deeper plowing is the 

 common practice, and where other necessary precautions are taken, 

 there is little trouble from erosion, and the crop yields are very 

 decidedly increased. 



The restoration of organic matter to the surface soil possesses a 

 double value in increasing its crop-producing power. In the first 

 place, it is essential in the constitution of a complete soil. In the 

 second place, the fibrous nature of the material tends to bind the soil 

 together, to absorb larger quantities of moisture, and to prevent 

 erosion. One of the most economical methods for the incorporation 

 of organic matter in the soils of the majority of cotton plantations of 

 the South is the production of a leguminous winter cover crop, which 

 prevents erosion through its matted surface vegetation during the 



