8 BULLETIN 482, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Bureau of Soils, it belongs to the series known as Hagerstown clay 
loam. It is of the same general type found in the Nashville Basin, 
East Tennessee Valley, and the Valley of Virginia. Except in 
the hilly parts along the rivers, rock is only occasionally seen on 
the surface. Generally it les 2 to 20 feet below the surface, offering 
little obstruction to plows and other machinery. The subsoil in 
most places is a sticky red clay, highly retentive of moisture. While 
to the ordinary observer the soil seems quite uniform in fertility, the 
analyses by soil chemists show a good deal of variation, even in the 
most fertile sections.* . 
The farmers who have grown up in the region and have had expe- 
rience with soils recognize many degrees of fertility. They distin- 
guish the quality of tobacco soils especially by native trees that grow 
on the land. For instance, white oak, beech, walnut, maple, and 
hickory clearings have been favored for the production of the best 
quality of tobacco.? 
, CLIMATE. 
The organization of crop enterprises is greatly influenced by cli- 
mate. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the main facts about the 
climate of this section. The rainy season is during the winter, the 
a la Bl ad ad ohee 
IN ee ES 
= = Sam 
Haas ee cencG ai a OR Sy er| 
Fic. 5.—Diagram showing average climatic he ee 
highest average rainfall occurring in March. During the hot period 
of summer the average rainfall is sufficient on this type of soil to 
keep tilled crops growing vigorously, but if it were not for the fact 
of a deep, heavy clay loam, rich in phosphorus, the region undoubt- 
edly would not be famous for bluegrass, since a relatively low rain- 
fall during the summer and fall is in itself injurious to bluegrass 
pasture. The farmers here expect frequent dry spells, when there 
is a shortage of pasture and water, and have adapted their farm 
practice and systems of farming to these conditions. Tobacco is one 
of the best drought-resistant plants known. For stock water farmers 
1See Kentucky Station Bulletin 162. 2See Kentucky Station Bulletin 139. 
