40 EXPERIMENT FARM AT SOUTHERN PINES, N. C. 



and low natural fertility, so that it may represent an average 

 condition of generally worn-out soils. No place could have 

 been better suited for the purpose sought than that selected 

 for these experiments. 



The farm is situated in what is known as the long-leaf 

 pine belt, covering an enormous area of this country and 

 reaching through the Atlantic States from Virginia to 

 Texas. Thus it is located in a section which is typical for 

 a considerable portion of this country and represented in 

 nearly every southern state. Moreover, the soil, being of a 

 thin, sandy, uniform texture, is very favorable for these 

 experiments. It was virgin at the time that the farm was 

 established, and therefore, uninfluenced by the effect of 

 previous manuring and other operations tending to make 

 the soil less uniform. The town of Southern Pines, near 

 which the farm is located, is easily accessible, a-nd many 

 farmers avail themselves of the opportunity to visit the 

 Experiment Farm and to study the operations there as an 

 object lesson. 



The Experiment Farm is divided into two departments, 

 one of them especially intended for the study of annual 

 farm crops and the other for perennial fruit crops. It com- 

 prises in all about 80 acres. The principle employed is 

 that of plot experimenting, as described in a previous 

 chapter. Thus the farm comprises certain series, each 

 series representing a particular crop to be experimented 

 upon, and each of these series is subdivided into a certain 

 number of plots treated with different elements of plant 



