ANALYSIS BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU 149 



The average yields of corn, wheat, and oats are reported as 18, 

 12, and 20 bushels, respectively, per acre. In the description of 

 this same type of soil for the Leesburg area of Virginia, the follow- 

 ing statements were recorded by the field men of the Bureau of 

 Soils: 



"The soil responds readily to applications of lime, and is much benefited 

 by its use. Much commercial fertilizer, as well as lime and barn -yard manure, 

 is used on this soil. In fact, so much acid phosphate has been added of late 

 years that the land has become quite sour, and it is hardly possible to obtain a 

 stand of grass or clover without the use of lime. " (Report for 1903, page 221.) 



Porter's black loam (Virginia) "is a loose, mellow black loam, averaging 

 about 12 inches deep. The subsoil is slightly heavier and of a light brown to 

 yellowish color. In depressions and coves, where wash from the higher ground 

 has accumulated, there is no sharp distinction between soil and subsoil, the 

 loose black loam being several feet deep. Both soil and subsoil contain frag- 

 ments of the rocks whose decomposition has formed the soil granites, 

 gneisses, and schists. This type occurs principally in the coves of the Blue 

 Ridge Mountains, but is also found upon the tops and upper slopes. " 



(4630 Ib. P.) "Locally the Porter's black loam is called 'black land' 

 and ' pippin land,' the latter term being applied because, of all the soils in the 

 area, it is preeminently adapted to the production of the Newtown or Alber- 

 marle Pippin. This black land has long been recognized as the most fertile 

 of the mountain soils. It can be worked year after year without apparent im- 

 pairment of its fertility." (Report for 1902, page 210.) 



Chester mica loam (Maryland) "as its name indicates, is characterized 

 by a great quantity of micaceous particles. It is derived from granites, gneisses, 

 and other micaceous rocks over which the type lies. It is strictly a resid- 

 ual soil and consists of a brownish loam 10 to 15 inches deep, underlain by a 

 lighter colored, heavier loam, also containing mica. The surface varies from 

 gently rolling to somewhat hilly. " 



(1130 Ib. P.) "It is not naturally a strong soil, but is susceptible of being 

 made quite fertile and productive through intelligent tilling and manuring." 

 (Report for 1901, page 222.) 



Collington sandy loam (New Jersey) "has resulted from the weathering 

 of the greensand, or glauconite, of New Jersey. The subsoil, which comes 

 within 6 or 8 inches of the surface, is a sticky, tenacious, claylike material, yel- 

 lowish or greenish in color. Owing to its relations to the greensand deposits, 

 this type differs from the other Coastal Plains soils. " 



(From 260 Ib. P. in surface to 27,600 Ib. P. in lower subsoil.) " Since millions 

 of tons of this greensand marl have been employed as fertilizers, it is at once 

 evident that any soil possessing a subsoil of this material will contain more than 

 the ordinary amounts of potash and lime. When, in addition to this, its phys- 

 ical structure is also well adapted to crop production, it would seem that a 

 particularly valuable soil was formed. . . . The marl specimen was collected 



