SOILS OF SOUTHERlir ISTEW JERSEY AND THEIE USES. 



15 



Each of the four areas constitutes a portion of a locality which 

 has been developed -to a marked degree for special agricultural pro- 

 duction. It is in such areas that the closest adjustments of farm prac- 

 tices to natural conditions may naturally be looked for. It may 

 reasonably be held that the existing adaptations of crop to soil have 

 resulted from the observations of skilled farmers acting through a 

 considerable period of years. In all four areas the sums invested in 

 each year's operations represent a risk which the individual farmer 

 desires to minimize through the adoption of every proved device of 

 agricultural art which will add certainty to his prospects of profit. 



In all cases the field maps were platted upon a scale of 6 inches to 

 the mile through the ordinary methods of plane-table survey. Bound- 

 aries of fields and of other forms of occupation are shown and the 

 kind of crop occupying each area of land at the time of the survey 

 is indicated. This cultural map is combined with a detailed soil map 

 so that the relationship of crops to soil may be read directly from 

 the single map. 



In order that the details of soil occupation might be determined, 

 the completed maps Avere measured and the acreage of each form of 

 occupation of each soil type was computed. 



The accuracy of all of the maps is controlled by adjustment to the 

 topographic maps of the region, executed by the New Jersey Geo- 

 logical Survey in cooperation with the United States Geological 

 Survey. Upon the scale adopted for this special soil and crop 

 mapping it is estimated that accuracy may be attained down to the 

 limit of one-fourth of an acre. 



The total area of ea.ch-map and of each soil type was measured, and 

 the total area of each crop- upon each soil type was also measured, 

 independently. It was found that interplanting and duplication of 

 cropping gave rise to an excess of land occupation over total land 

 area in some instances. In all cases the percentages of land occupa- 

 tion are figured on the basis of the total land occupation, in order to 

 give each soil type its full weight in the production of each crop. 



Table I shows the relationship between total land areas and total 

 occupation by crops and otherwise for each area mapped. 



Table I. — Total area, area occupied hy crops, and area of ivaste land in each 

 of the four soil-crop survey areas. 



Area. 



Total area 

 mapped. 



Total area 



of intensive 

 occupation. 



Total area 



rough and 



swampy 



lands. 



Freehold . 



Acres. 

 2,515.8 

 2, 259. 1 

 1, 476. 3 

 2.597.3 



Acre^. 

 2,507.1 

 2, 078. 6 

 1,358.5 

 2, 490. 9 



Acres. 



Hartford... 



216.6 



Thorofare 



123.5 



Swedesboro... 



144.4 







