The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1905-06-23
ORANGEBURG SOIL
The Best for. Growing Cuban Tobacco
in the Country

~
Looking for Some of the Samo Sort
in Texas-statement by
Departments.
The National department. of agri-
culture has issued an interesting bull
letin announcing the result of its sx-
periments in Texas with Cuban tobac-
co seed. A large part of this report
deals with Orangeburg clay and soil,
and great effort has been made in Tex
as, wherever possible, to find this soil,
the kind that the department. hos
found in Orangeburg county, near ST.
Matthews.
The report says: THE soil In the
Texas areas is believed to be derived
from the thorough weatheripg of Ter.
tlary clays, and In some localities the
ciays are underlain at a DEPTH of
eight to twenty feet by low grade of
glauconite material, indicating that
the ultimate origin of the type may
nave been green sand of Eocene age.
The iron coHcretions found in the soil,
1T Is thought, have been gradually
built by oxidation, and teaching of
iron in the soil, which acts as ce
ment between the grains OF sand Oc
casionaly, though rarely, the concre-
tions have the Irregular form of iron
crust, and such fragments sometimes
weigh several pounds. The presence
OF these concretions is one indication
of the adaptation OF the soil to the
production Of a cigar leaf of fine
quality.
The Orangeburg fine sandy loan,
In addition to it's special adaptation as
a tobacco soil. is well adapted to gen
eral farming. 1t combines marked fer,
tility with fine friable texture, and
Is easily kept in good tilth. The re-.
port then gives table showing the
results OF mechanical analyses OF sam.
pies OF the soil aud subsoIl OF this
type taken from the locality of the
experimental field in the Macogdoches
| CrexaD area.
The character and relative proper
tions of the principal plant food con-
stituents in this soil are also set out in
a table giving tue Jesuit Of chemical
analysis by the water extract method.
|
burg clay differs from the Orange
burg fine sandy loan mainly in hav.
ing much shallower covering of
lighter soil over the red clay sub soil,
the latter often lying within reach of
the plough, even with the shallow
ploughipg practiced In this part Of the
country. a typical description gives
the following profile; soil from five TO
nine inches deep, a dark red color:
and ranging in texture from a heavy
sandy loan, to clay loan, sub.soil,
a stiff dark red clay, generally reach
ing to a considerable depths, Though
generally underlain by gre ensand mari
at three feet. On the surface and mix.
ed with the soil, and sub soil, are
found varying proportions Of iron con.
cretions, and fragments Of weathered
greensand mari a few llmeston frag
ments are found in the sub-soil.
THE surface characteristics of the
soil vary considerably. TIE large
areas form high, evenly rolling land,
while the smaller areas VII III occur
as narrow strips, are usually more
rolling, and in places evon hiily and
broken. The surface drainage is for
the most part excellent, except for a
few slight depressions ftmnd In the
gently rolling areas, u sre ar5i6cial
drainage would be very benz fetal.
The Orangeburg clay, like the fine
sandy loan, is residual soil derived
through the weathering of greensand
mari OF Eocene age. The mari is 10.
cally called Shell rock" and outcrops
in many places in all the typical areas
OF the soil IN Texas, and In cuts a
graduation from the unweathered un
derlying formation TO the most thor
oughly weathered surface soil may be
readily traced. In some places an al
most complete weatherIng has taken
place to depth OF several feet. The
greensand Is rich In lime, phosptoric
acid, and potassium, and has some
value for use locally as fertilizer.
AT the beginning CT the year 1904
the bureau had ascertai, ed through
two years experiments already detail
ed, the types OF soil upon which the
tobacco nearly approaching the Cuban
leaf in all its qualities, could be sue
ceSSfully produced The experiments
were then continued through the sea
son OF 1904 on the soils Of the o -ange
burg clay and the Orangeburg fire
sandy loan To further study their
adaptation to filler tobacco and to see
II by O. fl rent methods OF fertilization
and cultivation, a still better leaf
could be grown"
La closing, the report says that the
result or the work done during the
year 1908, and the sales Of tobacco
grown in Tsxas, according to the de
partment's methcds, have proved, al
mo without Xccption, to have been
entirely satisfactory. 1t further says
that a good domestic filler can be
grown on the O;angeburg soils in east
Texas, and 1t this time about one
hundred and fifty acres are beipg
grown there. The industry looks ex.
ceedingly bright at this time in east
Texas.
| Gets Ten Thousand.
In the United States Court at Char