SOILS OP MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 43 



the sugar content is low and the coefficient of purity very unsatisfac- 

 tory. The farmers' goal is to secure the highest possible tonnage 

 consistent with a high sugar content of satisfactory purity. This 

 combination is best found there in a good strong sandy loam, under- 

 lain by a plastic light clay loam subsoil at a depth of 12 to 20 inches. 

 Nearly as good is a deep, fine sandy loam extending to a depth of 

 three feet or more. 



Sea-Island cotton took its name from being grown on islands along 

 the coast of South Carolina. Its long beautiful staple is now secured 

 in northern Florida and other Gulf States when grown on deep, fine- 

 textured loamy sands similar to those of the sea islands which it 

 made famous. But on the heavy soils, or even shallow sandy loam 

 surface soils underlain by heavy clay loam, it does not succeed and is 

 replaced by the short-staple varieties. 



In view of these definite cases in present agricultural practice, the 

 different effects of varying amounts of soil moisture on soil tempera- 

 tures and their apparent relationship to soil-crop adaptation is at 

 least suggestive. 



The greater the amount of moisture in a given soil and subsoil the 

 lower is their temperature in summer. Hence, the more moisture, 

 the larger the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature to 

 any given degree. The removal of drainage waters is followed by 

 rise in temperature at any given depth below the surface. Conse- 

 quently capillary rise of moisture from this lower supply tempo- 

 rarily lowers the temperature of the layers of soil to which it 

 ascends. The amount of capillary soil water held by the soil below 

 the depth to which tillage has taken place does not in many cases 

 depend primarily on the amount of humus in these lower layers of 

 soil. A simple analysis of the case makes this point evident. When 

 the forests were removed in the eastern States for crop planting the 

 decaying roots left considerable amounts of humus to a depth of 

 several feet. The depth varied greatly on different soils, because the 

 different species of trees in the virgin forests showed very marked 

 preferences for certain soil conditions. The local name " black walnut 

 land " is still used where that hardy tree grows, to indicate a heavy 

 type of soil. In southwest Michigan this is the Miami clay loam. 

 The hickory thrives in the northeastern States on the heavier soils. 

 Both black walnut and hickory are deep-rooted trees. In the same 

 region " hemlock land " always indicates a sandy soil, and the hem- 

 lock is not a deep-rooted tree. In the orchard districts of West Vir- 

 ginia the leading peach growers will not tolerate " white-oak land," 

 but a mixed growth of " rock oak and chestnut," about one-third of 

 the former and two-thirds of the latter, indicate a soil which has 

 been instrumental in making one of the most famous fruit districts 



