32 BULLETIN 1005, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Cucmnhers. — Out of a total acreage of 70.2 acres of cucumbers, 
43 acres, or 61.2 per cent, consist of the Sassafras and Keyport fine 
sandy loams. 
Spinach. — Spinach is the most extensively grown winter truck 
crop in the Norfolk district. The total area in the two areas mapped 
is 328.3 acres. The Sassafras loam carries 54.7 acres, or 52.1 per 
cent of its total area, in spinach; the Sassafras coarse sandy loam 
65.7 acres, or 23.5 per cent of its area; the .Sassafras fine sandy loam 
bears 76.6 acres, or 22.2 per cent of its total extent; and the Norfolk 
coarse sandy loam carries 48.8 acres, or 16.6 per cent of it^ total area. 
From this it follows that the best-drained soils of the Norfolk dis- 
trict include nearly 75 per cent of the spinach area mapped in the 
two surveys. 
Kale. — Kale is the other winter crop of importance in the Norfolk 
district. A total area of 188.2 acres is accredited to this crop, 
chiefly in the Churchland area. The Norfolk, Sassafras, and Key- 
port fine sandy loams carry a total of 148.7 acres, or 79 per cent of 
all of the kale mapped. They cover abaut 42 per cent of the area 
surveyed. 
Only the more sandy soils are desired for the growing of water- 
melons and cantaloupes. 
Sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and peas show quite a range of desir- 
able soil conditions, with a rather marked preference for sandy loams 
and even for sands. 
The preferred soils for potatoes and beans are very decidedly the 
sandy loam types. The production of the latter crop on loams is 
also indicated. 
The preferences of soils for strawberries range toward the sandy 
loam and the loam soils, although heavier soils may be used. 
Spinach and kale are preferably grown upon the heavier and more 
loamy soils. 
SOIL PREFERENCES EXPRESSED BY FARMERS OF THE NORFOLK DISTRICT. 
To ascertain the preferences of local farmers for the different 
classes of soils in growing the more important truck crops, a series 
of circular letters was sent out. The more important facts in the 
replies to these letters are discussed below. 
Potatoes.-^B.ep\ies were received from 32 growers who reported 
upon a total acreage of 1,636 acres. Tv\^enty-five growers, or 78 
per cent of those reporting, express a preference for sandy loam soils 
for potatoes, while the remaining 7. or 22 per cent, prefer a loam. 
In several instances distinction is made between the crop grown for 
extra early market and that for later harvesting. In all cases the 
sandy loam soils are preferred for the early crop. The yields reported 
by these 32 growers range from 30 barrels per acre to a maximum of 
