448 Agricultural Manual 



In Nassau County no crop rotation is followed. For about 

 a mile along the southern border of North Hempstead the soil 

 is very productive and is planted largely with potatoes year after 

 year. About twenty-five years ago wealthy people who were 

 attracted by the beauty of the north shore began building estates 

 overlooking Long Island Sound, paying large prices for their 

 property. As a consequence, the acreage of truck crops has 

 materially decreased within the last two decades. At the same 

 time, the effect of the decrease in acreage has been counter- 

 balanced by intensive cultivation. 



CLIMATE AND RAINFALL 



No complete climatological records being available for Nassau 

 County, Suffolk County records (page G97) may be considered 

 as fairly representative. 



TOPOGRAPHY AND NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS 

 A range of hills extends from east to west near the center of 

 the county. The north coast is deeply indented by inlets from 

 the sound, the largest of which is Oyster Bay. South of the hills 

 is a wide plain extending south to the salt marshes that surround 

 the bays. 



The soil on the north side is a productive sandy loam, in some 

 places mixed with clay. The plains have a coarse sandy soil, 

 which is rendered productive with proper application of fer- 

 tilizer. Along the borders of the salt meadows is a strip of light, 

 sandy soil, easily cultivated, and of moderate fertility. 



DESCRIPTION BY TOWNSHIPS 

 Hempstead: The shore is bordered by a line of beaches and 

 sand hills, including the beaches of Rockaway, Far Rockaway, 

 and Long Beach. Wide salt meadows border on the bays and 

 from them the land spreads out into a level plain. The soil along 

 the borders of the marshes is moderately fertile; on the 

 plain it consists of sand and fine gravel, which, when fertilizers 

 are properly applied, may be made productive. Franklin Square 

 and Valley Stream are in the center of truck regions from which 



