26 BULLETIN 159, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGBICULTTJBE. 



tion of these crops both for forage and green manuring purposes 

 should be encouraged. 



The Sassafras fine sand can not compete with the Sassafras sand 

 in maturing truck crops at a very early date, but the crops grown are 

 usually satisfactory with regard to yields. For the production of 

 early tomatoes, of sweet potatoes, and of garden peas and string 

 beans the Sassafras fine sand is well suited. It is used for the 

 growing of these and other market garden crops in southwestern 

 New Jersey. It is also used for the growing of cantaloupes and 

 is well suited to this crop. 



In general, the Sassafras fine sand is somewhat too porous and 

 well drained to be classed as a successful general farming soil. Areas 

 suitably situated with regard to market are used for vegetable crops 

 and canteloupes. 



In all cases the sandy character of the soil renders the use of 

 organic manures and green manuring crops advisable. 



SASSAFRAS GRAVELLY LOAM. 



The Sassafras gravelly loam has been mapped to the extent of 

 164,678 acres, chiefly upon western Long Island and in southwestern 

 New Jersey. Only small areas of the type have been found else- 

 where, chiefly in the Maryland counties on both sides of the upper 

 reaches of Chesapeake Bay. 



The soil of the Sassafras gravelly loam to a depth of 8 to 10 

 inches is a brown or reddish-yellow sandy loam containing from 20 

 to 40 per cent of small, white, quartz gravel, intimately mixed 

 through the mass of finer grained material. This is usually un- 

 derlain by a yellow or reddish-yellow silty loam which also contains 

 considerable gravel. The whole mass rests upon beds of fine or 

 medium gravel at depths ranging from 2 to 3 feet. 



The surface features of the Sassafras gravelly loam are somewhat 

 variable in the different areas of its occurrence. The extensive area 

 mapped on western Long Island constitutes a gently sloping plain 

 with a maximum elevation of 200 to 240 feet above tide level where 

 it abuts against the latest glacial moraine ridge along the northern 

 shore of the island. Thence it slopes gently seaward to the south 

 shore, being interrupted by the ridges and hills of an earlier moraine 

 in the central part of Long Island. 



The surface is little broken by stream channels although a few 

 dry gullies carry off excess water in times of heavy precipitation 

 or of melting snow. The natural slope of the land and the presence 

 of the underlying, porous beds of gravel give the type complete 

 drainage throughout its occurrence upon Long Island. 



