70 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



The yields of cotton are low on the Norfolk soils, rang- 

 ing from one-fourth to one-half bale to the acre. The 

 most urgent need of these soils is organic matter. In 

 addition, phosphatic and potassic fertilizers are often nec- 

 essary for best results. 



Tifton sandy ham. — This type represents a rather 

 important cotton soil located in southern Georgia and 

 probably in the panhandle of Florida and in southern 

 Alabama. It is described as a "gray or yellowish-gray 

 medium sandy loam about 10 inches in depth." Drainage 

 is usually good and the yields of cotton are considerably 

 higher than, on the associated Norfolk soils. 



The Orangeburg soils. — In this series the surface soils 

 are gray or brownish in color. They are imderlain 

 by a characteristic red sandy clay or stiff clay subsoil 

 which distinguishes them from the Norfolk soils. The 

 Orangeburg sandy loam and fine sandy loam are exten- 

 sively and successfully used for cotton, especially in cen- 

 tral South Carolina, the upper coastal plain of Georgia 

 and through the coastal plain of Alabama and Mississippi. 

 They also occur in east and northeast Texas. The Orange- 

 burg sand and fine sand are fairly important cotton soils in 

 these sections, being more productive than the correspond- 

 ing types of the Norfolk series, but not so extensive. 



As a rule the surface soils in this series are not retentive 

 of water, but the clay subsoils, in a measure, counteract 

 this defect. The most m-gent needs of these, soils are: 

 (1) organic matter, (2) deeper plowing, and (3) the preven- 

 tion of erosion. 



The Greenville series. — The soils of this series are gen- 

 erally loahiy, of reddish-brown to dark-red color, and are 

 underlain by a "red friable sandy clay subsoil." They 

 are admirably adapted to cotton, being more retentive of 



