131 



exclusively for corn and grass. As a result its price is $50.00 to 

 S75.00 an acre. 



Length of Farm 



WEST 



Vs mile 



ilt loam 



Corn and 

 Grass 



S50 to S75 an 



^ mile 



Fine sandv loar 



Tobacco and onions 



S200 an acre 



■8 mile (/ % mile 



Silt loam 



Corn and 

 ^ Grass 



#50 to $75 

 an acre 



Loam 



Onions, Corn, 

 / Grass but 

 no Tobacco 



iioo an acre 



EAST 



Terrace Ascent Terrace Descent Terrace Ascent 

 30 feet 10 feet 15 feet 



Fig. I. Showing diagram of farm located in the Connecticut River Valley and including in its extent 

 three distinct soil types. Double lines represent Public Highways. 



It should be noted, too, that the best of the tobacco lands con- 

 tain the very low organic content of 1.5 to 2.75 per cent., notwith- 

 standing plentiful applications of stable manure. Hence the nat- 

 ural adaptation of that soil does not depend, it need hardly be said, 

 on the organic content ; neither may other soils of that locality, 

 such as the loam at the east end of the farm mentioned, be so 

 amended by the addition of humus as to produce leaf satisfactory 

 in quality. Yet it is just as favorable as the first for the growth of 

 cigar leaf in every respect save that of texture and structure. 

 Here, then, is a very definite illustration of how the physical char- 

 acter of the soil has not only been the determining factor in the se- 

 lection of specific crops for the different types of soil on a given 

 farm, and for a linear distance of at least 75 miles in two states, 

 but these specific adaptations to special crops have in turn been the 

 principal basis of land valuation there for the last half century. 



This case is not unique. There are many cases in different 

 states which illustrate the same principle of soil adaptation and 

 definite soil requirements for the best results. These are not 

 theories but facts based upon and demonstrated by well-developed 

 agricultural practices. 



In view of these facts it does not seem strange that our fruits 

 also should give a wide range of results as grown on different soils, 

 and that equal results with a given variety of apple, for instance, are 

 not obtained from diverse soil conditions. 



