GROUP OF SANDY LOAMS AND FINE SANDS. 
51 
farm is fed. When dairying or other live stock farming is prac¬ 
ticed it will be less difficult to maintain the supply of the essen¬ 
tial elements of plant food—phosphorus, potassium, and nitro¬ 
gen. But even when stock is maintained it is very probable that 
the moderate use of some form of phosphorus fertilizers will be 
found profitable, and some means for increasing the organic 
matter in addition to the use of stable manure should be made 
use of as far as practicable. The growth of a crop of soybeans 
or clover, occasionally, all of which is to be plowed under as a 
green manuring crop, will be found very profitable in its effect 
on the succeeding crop of corn or grain. 
When these soils are used for the growing of potatoes or other 
special crops to a considerable extent the use of commercial fer¬ 
tilizers containing phosphorus and potassium will be found nec¬ 
essary to maintain the soil fertility. Clover or some other 
legume must be grown regularly in the rotation to maintain the 
nitrogen and organic matter, and part or all of this should be 
plowed under. It is often desirable to use the commercial fer¬ 
tilizers containing phosphorus and potassium in order to secure 
a good growth of this clover and there is little loss in so doing, 
since essentially all of the phosphorus and potassium applied to 
the soil for the clover becomes available to the succeeding crop 
through the decomposition of the organic matter. 
The use of lime in some form and also the inoculation of •the 
soil is of the utmost importance when alfalfa is to be grown 
and will be found helpful on the older fields even for the growth 
of medium red or mammoth clover. 
While the use of commercial fertilizers containing phosphorus 
and potassium is desirable in the management of these soils it 
must not be considered that this is an indication that they have 
less value, than heavier soils which are relatievly higher in these 
elements, for the growth of potatoes and other special crops. 
The fact that these soils become dry and warm early in the sea¬ 
son makes them less subject to local frosts and the finer tilth 
which these fine sands and sandy loams develop fit them espe¬ 
cially well for the growth of potatoes and some other root crops, 
since they are practically free from checking and cracking. 
The cost of these fertilizers is a comparatively small part of the 
total cost of growing these crops. 
From the above it will be seen that by the use of lime, by in¬ 
creasing the organic matter in the soil, and by the careful use 
