DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE SOILS OP VIRGINIA. 



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for extra-early asparagus, Irish potatoes, peas, beans, tomatoes, egg 

 plant, melons, cantaloupes, and small fruits. The fine sand is better 

 adapted to these crops, giving larger yields, but the crops mature from 

 ten days to two weeks later. This is the main truck soil of the Nor- 

 folk district. The sandy loam and the fine sandy loam are best 

 adapted to sweet and Irish potatoes, early sweet corn, melons, the 

 heavier truck crops, like kale, spinach, and cabbage, and to peanuts. 

 The fine sandy loam gives better yields than the sandy loam. The 

 silt loam, which occurs to a small extent, is the only soil of the Nor- 

 folk series found in the State which is well adapted to general farm 

 crops, such as corn, wheat, and oats. The remaining types, coarse 

 sandy loam, gravelly loam, and clay loam, are of comparatively rare 

 occurrence and have no particular value. 



Portsmouth series. — The soils are dark gray to black and are high 

 in organic matter. The subsoils are light gray to mottled gray 

 and yellow, and the heavier mem- 

 bers are always plastic, though 

 usually carrying a noticeable per- 

 centage of sand. These soils are 

 most extensively developed in the 

 flatwoods or the low seaward por- 

 tion of the Atlantic Coastal Plains 

 and that portion of the Gulf 

 Coastal Plains lying east of the 

 Mississippi River. They are poorly 

 drained and require ditching before 

 they can be used for agriculture. 

 Scattered areas are frequently 

 found in the poorly drained de- 

 pressions of the higher Coastal 

 Plains country. When drained these soils are variously adapted to 

 corn, strawberries, and truck crops, such as cabbage, onions, and 

 celery. Applications of lime are usually decidedly beneficial. 



The silt loam is one of the extensive and important types in the 

 series. It is devoted principally to general farming, including corn, 

 hay, and oats. It is also well suited to the production of cabbage, kale, 

 collards, and certain varieties of strawberries. The sandy loam and 

 fine sandy loam are the important truck soils of the series and are 

 well adapted to late and heavy truck crops, especially cabbage, kale, 

 spinach, celery, onions, lettuce, and strawberries. Larger yields are 

 secured from these soils than from the corresponding types of the 

 Norfolk series. The fine sandy loam is probably the best strawberry 

 soil of the Coastal Plains. The clay loam occupies only small spots. 

 It is a splendid soil for corn, oats, and grasses, and good pasture can 



Fig. 



Relative area of Coastal Plains 

 soils. 



