PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL 37 



while the stone fruits, such as peaches, cherries and plums, succeed better 

 on soils that are lighter in texture and better drained. In fact, peaches 

 will often succeed admirably on shaly ridges and mountains in the Pied- 

 mont Plateau. 



Texture Affects Tillage. Soil texture so influences the cost of tillage 

 that it often determines the crop to be grown. Crops that require a great 

 deal of tillage and hand work, such as sugar beets, are more economically 



grown on soils of light texture, because of the greater ease of weeding and 

 tillage. Even though these light soils under intensive cultivation may 

 require considerable expenditure for fertilizers, the additional cost thus 

 entailed is generally more than offset by the saving in labor. 



Structure of the Soil. The structure of the soil pertains to the 

 arrangement of the soil particles within the body of the soil in much the 

 same way that the arrangement of the bricks in a building determines 

 the style of architecture. In all soils of fine texture it is good soil manage- 

 ment to strive to obtain a granular structure. This consists of a grouping 

 of the soil particles into small groups or granules. A good illustration oi 



1 Courtesy of Doubleday , Page & Co., Garden City, N. Y. From " Soils," by Fletcher. 



