


SOILS OF SOUTHERN 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. Out of a total acreage of 3,041.2 acres of this 
type, included in the four detailed surveys, 1,103.6 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 200.7 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.—All 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 known 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 Collington 
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 growing 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 
