8 
BULLETIN 1378, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
CHARACTER OF THE SOIL 
This orchard is on Greenville sandy loam, which is a reddish 
brown to red sandy loam 8 to 10 inches deep. The subsoil is inva- 
riably red to bright-red friable sandy loam, becoming heavier with 
depth. The soil is easily cultivated, though care must be exercised 
in its management, as it is liable to clod if plowed too wet or too 
dry. Although the subsoil is a heavy sandy clay, no difficulty is 
experienced in preparing a seed bed or maintaining a favorable 
moisture content. This soil and the soil type in general have a high 
agricultural value, are well adapted to and grow good crops of cot- 
ton, corn, and oats, and give excellent yields of forage crops and 
native grasses. Large areas of the Greenville sandy loam are planted 
to pecan orchards in southern Georgia, and where properly managed 
and cared for the trees are doing well. As a rule this type of soil is 
considered better than the Norfolk type for general farm crops and 
for pecans. The character of this soil is such that its fertility can 
be more easily improved and maintained by good methods of soil 
management and fertilization than the Norfolk sandy loam. The 
mechanical analysis of the Greenville soil is given in Table 8. 
Table 8. — Mechanical analysis of Greenville sandy loam from Dougherty County, 
Ga. 
Constituents (per cent) 
Soil material 
Fine 
gravel 
Coarse 
sand 
Medium 
sand 
Fine 
sand 
Very fine 
sand 
Silt 
Clay 
Soil 
0.9 
1.0 
14.6 
20.2 32.3 
6.8 
7.4 
14.5 
13.8 
10.8 
10.6 
14.9 
The orchard on which the chemical-fertilizer experiment was con- 
ducted contained about 18 acres. The trees were 9 years of age at 
the time and very badly rosetted; they produced practically no nuts. 
The land had been growing general farm crops, and no vegetation 
was turned under. The plowing which was necessary for the annual 
crops had been very shallow and the cultivation scant. However, 
fair yields of farm crops were obtained, and the native grass which 
was cut for hay yielded well. 
In 1918, soil samples, representative of the entire 18 acres, were 
taken for laboratory work, and the chemical analysis is given in 
Table 9. 
Table 9. 
-Chemical analysis of soil from a Greenville sandy loam orchard in 
Dougherty County, Ga., in 1918 l 
Constituents (per cent) 
Soil material 
Organic 
matter 
(C) 
Nitrogen 
(N) 
w!w£« Calcium 
phorUS (Cam 
(P 2 5 ) (LaU) 
Potash 
(K 2 0) 
Magne- 
sium 
(MgO) 
Soil -.. 
0.37 
.31 
.29 
0.022 
.026 
.018 
0. 0407 0. 182 
. 0230 1 . 128 
. 0276 . 182 
0.264 
.298 
.276 
0. 0598 
.0962 
.1179 
Analysis by W. R. Leighty, Office of Soil-Fertility Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry. 
