I 
SOILS OF EASTERN VTKOTNIA. 53 
The Portsmouth sandy loam occurs only along stream beds in the 
Onley area. It is either overflowed at times of heavy rain or is 
saturated with seepage water. It is not capable of drainage over the 
greater part of its extent, except by deepening and straightening of 
stream channels. It is of small extent and, at present, of little 
agricultural importance, being chiefly forested. 
The important agricultural soils of the area are the Sassafras 
sandy loam, Keyport sandy loam, and Elkton sandy loam. Some 
small areas of Elkton loam attain to a most unusual agricultural use 
from their close association with these types. 
It is because these types are characteristically found in the vicinity 
of Onley that the area was selected for detailed study. It is con- 
sidered certain that the conditions found on the three main types 
within this area are rather closely representative of the general con- 
ditions under which they occur and are farmed throughout Accomac 
and Northampton Counties. This is evident from a comparison of 
the section with the detailed soil survey of the two counties.^ 
USES OF SOILS, 
A detailed soil map and two crop maps were made of the Onley 
area to show the boundaries and extent of each distinct type of soil 
and to make possible the measurement of the areas of each different 
crop or form of occupation for each soil type. One crop map shows 
the normal crop distribution in July, when the maximum acreage 
of distinctly truck crops is to be encountered in this region. The 
other crop map shows the crop areas in September, after the main 
Irish potato crop has been harvested and typical fall conditions exist. 
If a third map showing conditions in the spring had been made it 
would probably show somewhat larger areas of such crops as cabbage, 
onions, and, possibly, strawberries, but the two maps presented 
give an idea of the more common uses of the different soils for crop- 
ping and of the relative importance of the different principal crops. 
They also indicate in a pronounced way some of the characteristics 
of crop rotation and double cropping which are common in the region. 
Tables XI and XII show the absolute and relative importance of 
the different soil types and their uses for crop production. 
3 Soil Survey of Accomac and Northampton Counties, Virginia, E. U. Stevens, Field Operations, Bureau 
of Soils, 1917. 
