ANALYSIS BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU 141 



ity, although it is not so considered by the resident farmers." 

 (Report for 1901, page 45.) 



Norfolk sand (Maryland) "is a coarse to medium orange or yellow sand, 

 having a depth of about 10 inches. The subsoil is coarse to medium, becom- 



" As bearing upon this point of the association or nonassociation of high analyti- 

 cal figures with large crop yields, no more striking evidence occurs to us than the 

 following letter written by Mr. Taylor, May 26, while in the field in St. Mary County, 

 Md., and forming a part of his regular reports to the Bureau at Washington: 



"'At Park Hall, upon the farm of Mr. S , who is recognized as one of the 

 best farmers of the community, I secured some samples of the Leonardtown loam 

 from a wheat field which will produce from 30 to 35 bushels per acre this season. 

 The land was in tobacco last season, upon which barnyard manure and 400 pounds 

 of fertilizer had been used. Nothing was added when the wheat was sown. 

 The land was plowed about 8 inches deep. The soil lacked the usual grayish, 

 ashy appearance of the Leonardtown loam, and, owing to cultivation, was loose 

 and mellow to a depth of over two feet. One of these samples was compared with 

 one taken from another wheat field upon the same type, where the yield would not 

 be over 6 or 8 bushels. This latter land was farmed by negroes, was in wheat 

 last year, and produced a fair crop, so it is said. No manure but a little guano 

 was used last fall. The ground was uneven on the surface, and below the first 4 

 or 5 inches the soil was hard and compact. A comparison of the analyses is given 

 below : 



PARTS PER MILLION OF OVEN-DRIED SOIL 



. 



It will be noted that the poor soil shows more water-soluble plant food with all 

 elements except calcium. Other data reported show that the pounds of water- 

 soluble calcium per million pounds of oven-dried soil of the Leonardtown loam 

 varied from 2.66 to 29.52 in the first two feet where the soil was in "good condition," 

 and from 3.95 to 24.99 where the soil was in "poor condition. " 



It appears, however, that the conclusions of Whitney and Cameron even con- 

 cerning the nonrelationship between crop yields and water-soluble plant food are 

 wrong. Professor F. H. King, a most careful investigator of the highest integrity, 

 as the result of two years' experiments, including many determinations made during 

 the crop season, before severing his connection with the Bureau of Soils, was led 

 to the following conclusions: 



