PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SOILS 23 



water results in early maturity. Excellent crops of 

 potatoes are grown on many of the silt soils of the 

 west which have a materially different composition from 

 the type given. A soil may have all of the requisites 

 physically for the production of godd potato and 

 truck crops, and still be unproductive on account of 

 unbalanced chemical composition or lack of plant 

 food. 



13. General Truck and Fruit Soils. For fruit grow- 

 ing and general truck purposes the soil should contain 

 more clay and less sand than for early truck farming. 

 Soils containing from 10 to 15 per cent of clay and not 

 more than 50 per cent of sand are best suited for grow- 

 ing small fruits. Such soils will retain from 12 to 20 

 per cent of water. There is a noticeable difference in 

 the adaptability of different kinds of fruit to different 

 soils. Some thrive on clay land, provided the proper 

 cultivation and treatment are given. There is as much 

 diversity of soil required for producing different fruit 

 crops as for the production of different farm crops. As 

 a rule, however, a silt soil is most capable of being 

 adapted to the various conditions required by fruit 

 crops. 



i 



14. Corn Soils. The strongest types of corn soils 

 are those which contain from 40 to 45 per cent of 

 medium and fine sand and about 15 per cent of clay. 

 Corn lands should contain 15 per cent of available 



