SOILS OF SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY AND THEIR USES. 31 
It will be seen from these tables that nearly one-half of the 
- total area occupied consists of loams—the Sassafras loam and the 
Elkton loam. These more retentive soils are normally used in 
the section for the production of hay, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, 
and other staple or late truck crops. The remaining soils grade, 
from a fine sandy loam to a loose, deep sand. The area thus presents 
a sufficient variation in soil type characteristics to permit of con- 
siderable diversity in cropping while at the same time it is domi- 
nated by the finer grained and more retentive soils. 
The table of occupation acreages is in close accord with what 
might be expected from the table of soil type acreages. The general 
farm crops occupy 42 per cent of the area, while truck and fruit 
crops occupy 41.5 per cent. The large area of land not under culti- 
vation results entirely from the fact that the greater part of the Col- 
lington sand is more profitably worked to furnish molder’s and 
builder’s sand than as an agricultural soil. A porous sand of this 
character is too unretentive of moisture to support even the early 
truck crops to good advantage. 
The percentage of crop acreages established by the figures for all 
types constitutes a normal for the area and region. When comparl- 
son of the individual percentages of crop occupation of the different 
types 1s made with this standard it is evident that the Sassafras 
loam is more extensively used for growing the general farm crops 
than is any other really important type in this locality. It supports 
general farm crops to the extent of 52.6 per cent of its acreage, as 
compared with 42 per cent for the entire area and with 36.8 per 
cent on the Sassafras sandy loam, which is the next most extensive 
type of soil. 
With respect to special or truck crops, the Sassafras loam sup- 
ports them to the extent of 36.8 per cent of its area as compared 
with 31.2 per cent for the entire area and 34.6 per cent on the Sassa- 
fras sandy loam. 
Among specific crops, it is notable that hay occupies the largest 
area of any single crop for the entire area for the Sassafras loam, 
Collington sandy loam, and Elkton loam, while it is relatively unim- 
portant as a crop on any other soil type within the limits of this 
survey. 
The potato crop ranks second to hay in total acreage and leads 
corn slightly. There is a marked concentration of the potato acre- 
age on the Sassafras loam and a shght excess in proportionate 
acreage on the Sassafras sandy loam. This fact supports the results 
as obtained from the survey of the detailed area near Freehold. 
These two types are recognized as especially suited to the growing 
of the crop. It is known in the Hartford area that the Irish Cob- 
bler matures at a slightly earlier date on the Sassafras sandy loam, 


