318 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 
cucumbers, watermelons, and cantaloupes. Peaches and plums are 
grown to a limited extent, but the trees are usually short lived and 
the fruit of an inferior quality. The pecan trees seen were in a 
thrifty condition. 
A few patches of velvet beans have been grown. This crop 
seems to be better suited to the type, under local conditions, than any 
other of the leguminous crops. Cowpeas also do well and beggar- 
weed once started reseeds itself. 
Both in citrus fruit and truck growing commercial fertilizers 
are used. Commercial fertilizers are found more beneficial and last¬ 
ing in their effect if the soil contains a reasonable amount of or¬ 
ganic matter. 
The principal tree growth on this type is longleaf pine. An 
occasional clump of live oak is found and in places scattering black- 
jack oak. The undergrowth consists mainly of wire grass and 
patches of oak runner, with occasional clusters of saw palmetto. 
(Figs. 75 and 76.) 
Unimproved tracts of land of this type of soil range in price from 
$30 to $150 an acre, the difference depending upon location. It is 
said to cost from $250 to $400 to clear, fence, and plant an acre in 
oranges or grapefruit. Groves in good bearing are valued at $500 
to> $1,000 or more an acTe. 
Norfolk fine sand, flat phase .—The Norfolk fine sand, flat phase, 
consists of a dark-gray to nearly black fine sand, underlain at 3 to 
6 inches by light-gray fine sand, which grades below into yellow 
or yellowish-gray fine sand. The darker color and more loamy 
texture of the surface soil are due to a higher organic content than 
is present in the typical soil. The subsoil is almost identical with 
that of the typical soil both in color and texture. 
This phase of the Norfolk fine sand, known locally as “hammock 
land,” occupies a position intermediate between the Portsmouth fine 
sand and the typical Norfolk fine sand. It has a nearly level sur¬ 
face. The principal areas occur south of Largo. 
The vegetation consists of longleaf pine, wire grass, and saw 
palmetto. Natural drainage for the most part is fairly well estab¬ 
lished and only a small proportion of the area would be benefited 
by ditching or tiling. On the other hand, the presence of a high per¬ 
centage of humus in the surface soil, together with the open-textured 
subsoil, assists in the conservation of moisture. 
The Norfolk fine sand, flat phase, is very well adapted to the 
