DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE SOILS OF VIRGINIA. d 



DESCRIPTION AND USE OF THE SOILS OF THE PIEDMONT PLATEAU 



PROVINCE. 



Cecil series. — The Cecil series includes the most important and 

 widely distributed soils of the Piedmont Plateau. The heavier mem- 

 bers are known as the " red-clay lands." These soils are characterized 

 by their red-clay subsoils and gray to red soils, ranging in texture 

 from sand to clay, the lighter colors prevailing in the sandy members. 

 A characteristic of the subsoil is the content of sharp quartz sand 

 and the frequent occurrence of veins of quartz. Mica flakes are also 

 usually present in the subsoil. The soils are of residual origin and 

 derived principally from granite and gneiss, weathered to great 

 depths, so that rock outcrops are rare. Fragments and bowlders of 

 the parent rock are, however, found in places on the surface. The 

 topography is rolling to hilly, with level to undulating areas in 



Fig. 2. — Relative area of soil provinces. 



Fig. 3. — Relative area of Piedmont soils. 



situations where stream erosion has not been too active. The soils 

 of the Cecil series are adapted to the general farm crops. 



The sandy loam is best suited to the lightest type of general farm- 

 ing, with light teams, tools, and farm buildings. It is an important 

 corn soil and is fairly well adapted to wheat, oats, clover, grasses, 

 and cowpeas. This type ranks with the Durham sandy loam as one 

 of the two most important tobacco soils in the Danville region. It 

 is used for bright cigarette and smoking tobacco where the red-clay 

 subsoil is 8 inches or more below the surface and for manufacturing 

 types of tobacco where it is nearer the surface. It is adapted to 

 sweet and Irish potatoes, tomatoes, rye, berries, and garden vegetables, 

 but requires considerable organic matter and intelligent rotation of 

 crops to attain its best development. The clay is adapted to and can 

 only be maintained at its highest efficiency by the heaviest types of 

 general farming, with heavy teams and tools and commodious build- 

 ings for the storage of bulky and heavy products. This type of farm- 



