46 



the old orchards contain a few trees. It is most extensive- 

 ly grown in the Oldtown district of Newbury, near New- 

 buryport. The Roxbury Russett is a gross feeder, the grow- 

 ers believing that it will use heavy applications of stable 

 manure to advantage. 



In one of the most successful orchards the surface soil 

 consists of a heavy loam from 10 to 15 inches deep which 

 has been highly fertilized with stable manure and kept well 

 supplied with humus for at least 50 years — the \ery antithe- 

 sis of the soil conditions desired for the Baldwin. The sub- 

 soil is lighter — a fine sandy loam or a gravelly sandy loam. 

 The soil of another excellent orchard consists of a light silty 

 and fine sandj^ loam underlain by fine sandy loam. 



A deep rich loamy soil with the upper sub-soil of at 

 least medium porosity seems to be essential, though a heav- 

 ier sub-soil at a depth of 4 to 6 feet is apparently not ob- 

 jectionable. The first orchard mentioned is underlain by a 

 retentive sub-soil of clay loam to clay, at a depth of about 

 6 feet. The Roxbury Russett thrives on a much richer soil 

 than the Baldwin which does not color well on the best 

 Russett soils. The Rhode Island Greening soil on the other 

 hand is somewhat too clayey for the Roxbury Russett. 



Grown on the soil conditions described the Roxbury 

 tree is prolific, the fruit attains large size and good quality, 

 its keeping characteristics are excellent and it brings a good 

 price, especially for export trade. Young trees of this sort 

 are now so rarely planted that there would seem to be a 

 good opportunity for it in a limited way to supply the 

 small yet definite demand for it. 



"VVe have seen how several of our important crops have 

 reached their highest development on certain kinds of soil, 

 and in the light of this experience it seems inevitable to 

 conclude that soils may be selected for different crops in ac- 

 cordance with their relative adaptations to the growth of 

 such crops. In fact, there is nothing new or startling in this 

 statement. It is simply summing up a long line of experi- 

 ence in the best farm practice of the country. Only the best 

 farm practice the most perfect soil adaptation and the most 

 effective soil-crop management can long survive because no 

 other kinds pay as well. We have been forced by competi- 

 tion to recognize soil adaptation to different crops. It is a 

 matter of economic efficiency. 



Attention has been called to the further fact that the 



