SOILS OF EASTERN VIRGINIA. 37 



The reports indicate an average yield of 60 to 70 barrels per acre. 

 Manure is quite generally used for this crop, with a supplementary 

 application of 500 to 1,000 pounds of commercial fertilizer. The 

 formula employed varies, ranging from a mixture analyzing 2-8-6 to 

 the 7-6-5 formula commonly used on Irish potatoes. 



Cantaloupes. — Only six replies were received with respect to canta- 

 loupes, but it is notable that all indicate a preference for a sandy or 

 sandy loam soil. 



Watermelons. — Five replies with respect to watermelons ; all express 

 a preference for a sandy soil. 



Spinach.— Replies were received from 17 growers, representing a 

 total of 559 acres of spinach. Seven, or 41 per cent, prefer a sandy 

 loam soil; 6, or 35 percent, prefer a loam; and 4 growers, or 24 per 

 cent, prefer a heavy loam or clay. 



The yields reported range from 50 to 400 barrels per acre, with a 

 mean of about 200 barrels. 



Spinach is the most extensively grown of the strictly winter truck 

 crops. There is some variation in the methods of production, 

 although the greater part of the acreage follows a summer forage 

 crop, either volunteer hay or a crop of corn or of corn and cowpeas. 



The land is plowed, harrowed, and thrown up into narrow, flat- 

 topped beds early in the fall and the spinach seeded while there is 

 time for a strong growth before the colder winter weather sets in. 



Stable manure, so far as it can be obtained, is used for the crop, 

 but the chief dependence is placed upon commercial fertilizers. These 

 are applied at the rate of 1,000 to 2,000 pounds per acre, the most 

 common application being 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. A part of the 

 application is made just before seeding, but additional applications 

 are made during the winter whenever warm weather permits. The 

 fertilizer used for this winter crop usually contains 10 per cent of 

 ammonia, derived from soluble sources, from 4 to 8 per cent of phos- 

 phoric acid, and 2 to 4 per cent of potash. 



It is coming to be a common practice in the Norfolk district to 

 apply from 500 to 1,000 pounds of lime in some form, at the time the 

 spinach beds are prepared. 



Kale. — Kale is second only to spinach in the Norfolk district as a 

 winter truck crop. Replies were received from 15 growers, represent- 

 ing 177 acres of kale. Of these, 3, or 20 per cent, prefer a sandy loam 

 soil; 11, or 73 per cent, express preference for a loam soil; and 1 

 prefers a clay soil. 



The yields reported range from 200 to 300 barrels per acre, with 

 an average of about 250 barrels. 



Kale is most commonly planted after a summer crop of volunteer 

 hay or after corn. The planting is made in the early fall and the 

 crop makes the greater part of its growth early in the season. The 



