SOILS OF SOUTHEEN NEW JERSEY AND THEIR USES. 63 



The data concerning each crop will be summarized separately. 



Irish potatoes. — The figures given in Tables XI and XII show 

 that the Sassafras loam leads all other soils in the absolute acreage 

 of Irish potatoes grown as well as in the relative importance of the 

 crop upon that type. Gut of a total acreage of 3,041.2 acres of this 

 type, included in the four detailed surveys, 1,108.6 acres, or 36.3 per 

 cent of the type, was found to be used for Irish potatoes. No other 

 soil included in the surveys approached this in importance in po- 

 tato growing. The Sassafras sandy loam was second in rank as a 

 potato soil, carrying 200.T acres in this crop. The relative and abso- 

 lute importance of potatoes on all other soil types is negligible. 



These figures merely give mathematical substantiation of the state- 

 ments made by Jennings, Patrick, and others that " the Sassafras 

 loam is the preferred soil for the production of Irish potatoes in 

 southern New Jersey." 



Sweet potatoes. — AU of the soils of the sand and coarse sandy 

 loam group are extensively utilized for sweet potatoes. The Sassa- 

 fras coarse sand carries the largest percentage of area among soils 

 suited to this crop. Among the sandy loam soils, only the Colts 

 Neck gravelly sandy loam and the Sassafras sandy loam produced 

 any large area or percentage of the crop. These facts are in strict 

 accord with the generally laiown preference of farmers for a sandy 

 or deep sandy loam soil for the growing of this crop. Not a single 

 acre of sweet potatoes was encountered on the entire extent of 3,041 

 acres of the Sassafras loam. 



Tomatoes. — The soils of the sand and coarse sandy loam group 

 lead in the acreage given to tomatoes, although the loam group is 

 well represented. Compared with its total extent, the CoUington 

 fine sandy loam bears a large acreage of tomatoes. It carries 51.3 

 acres, or 18.3 per cent of its area, in this crop. The Sassafras sandy 

 loam supports the largest absolute acreage in tomatoes, but has only 

 11.3 per cent of its area in the crop. The Sassafras coarse sandy 

 loam and the Sassafras sand are also important in the gi-owing of 

 tomatoes. They occupy 13 per cent of the area of the former and 



11.1 per cent of the latter soil. 



Since tomatoes are grown both for direct marketing and for can- 

 ning, ripening at two distinct periods, there is a wide range in the 

 character of the soils upon which the crop may be grown to advan- 

 tage. Prevalently sandy and sandy loam soils are chosen for the 

 early and medium early crops, while the more loamy soils are chiefly 

 used for the canning crop. 



Asparagus. — The Sassafras sand is the leading type in the grow- 

 ing of asparagus. The type bears 191.9 acres of asparagus, or 20.4 

 per cent of its total area. The Sassafras coarse sandy loam carried 



91.2 acres, or 9.8 per cent of its tilled area, while the Colts Neck 



