SOILS OF THE SASSAFRAS SERIES. 23 



and sandy loam. Since these soils are commonly associated with 

 the soils of the Sassafras series in the region of its most extended 

 development on the Maryland-Delaware Peninsula, the later berries 

 are decidedly restricted to these other types. A good field of straw- 

 berries on the Sassafras sand is shown in Plate II, figure 2. 



Both dewberries and blackberries are planted successfully on the 

 Sassafras sand. In Anne Arundel County, Md., the dewberry has 

 become somewhat a specialty upon this soil. 



In former years peaches were grown to quite an extent upon some 

 portions of the Sassafras sand, but the Cfop is now of diminishing 

 importance. 



Early fall varieties of apples are grown upon it, but the Sassafras 

 sand may not be considered as a type well suited to apple orcharding. 



To summarize the uses of this soil type it may be said that the 

 value of the special crops grown upon it in the various localities 

 probably exceeds the value of the general farm crops produced, 

 although the acreage is decidedly smaller. The type may be char- 

 acterized as below the average in agricultural value for the produc- 

 tion of the cereal grains and the common meadow grasses; fairly 

 well suited to the growing of crimson clover and cowpeas; and 

 especially well suited to the production of a wide variety of vege- 

 tables and small fruits where areas of the soil are conveniently 

 situated with respect to transportation and market. 



SASSAFRAS LOAMY SAND. 



The Sassafras loamy sand has been mapped to a total extent of 

 57,024 acres, found chiefly in the Easton area, Md., but to a limited 

 extent in Anne Arundel County, Md. It is undoubtedly a type of 

 limited geographical extent and of restricted agricultural impor- 

 tance. 



The surface soil of the Sassafras loamy sand to a depth of 6 or 8 

 inches is a dull-brown loamy sand. The medium to coarse grades of 

 sand form a considerable part of the whole mass and give a coarse 

 gritty character to the material. A small amount of white quartz 

 gravel is also found in the surface soil. There is present a sufficient 

 amount of finer grained material to cause a moist sample of the soil 

 to cohere slightly, but when dry the surface soil is loose and unconi- 

 pacted, although not quite so incoherent as the Sassafras sand. 



The upper part of the subsoil possesses about the same texture and 

 structure as the soil, but is lighter in color, being a pale yellow. At 

 a depth of 15 inches there is a perceptible increase in the amount of 

 fine material and the deeper subsoil gradually becomes a moderately 

 heavy sandy loam. It is coherent when moist, but crumbles into 

 granular aggregates when dry. 



