The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1907-02-08

largely because they do more worI
2 themselves and depend less upon
{ hired labor.
Shipping tobacco is grown upon al
the soils having clay sub.oils, th.
lar. est ard best yields being upon ,h,
lands having the red clay subsoils
The land most in demand is that
which has the sandy covering. be-
cause Of the ease with which it can be
worked. Bright tobacco is grown up
on the sandy soils. These soil, sre
also adapted To sweet potatoes.
The bottoms produce the best corn,
which is grown year after year upon
TIE same fields. In fact, rotation is
seldom placticed ON any but tobacco
lands, and not always there except 10y
the best farmers. The usual rotation
is tobacco one year, then wheat fol-
lowed 10y clover which is sometimes
allowed 90 stand two years. Alf ia
has been grown successfully. Lining
is practiced TO some extent, and COM
mercial fertilizers are largely used,
while but little effort seems 20 be
made TO make and use stable manure.
OF the six soils above mentioned.
the Cecil Sandy loan occupies thirl
Of the area surveyed .9l,7l0 acres. Do
the northern part it occupies solely the
tops Of The ridges, but ia the central
and southern parts it occasionally oc-
cur on the slope, and even extends
down to the creek banks. The soil
consists Of gray or yellow sandy
loan from 4 10 - inches in depth.
averaging over e whole area about
sinche, underlain by clay. Upon the
broader ridges i'm the north and east
portions of the area the soil is deeper
than in the southern portion, where {
i, quite shallow and i'm small scattered
areas. The subsoil varies from a ye.-
lowish TO red clay loan. with the clay
increasing ia lower depth, and finally
becoming stiff tenaciou, red clay.
As 10 fertility the Cecil sandy loan
is regarded az one Of the best soil, OIL
the area, and is desirable both because
Of the ea-e with which it can be cult
waited, and because OF its quick Zee
Spouse TO fertilizer, and the retentiye
power of its sub,oil. The principal
crop grown on this soil Is the dark
shipping tobacco, yielding from 900 90
1900 pound, 10 the acre, fair average
being about 500 pounds BY The use
of fertilizers and with proper attention
the yields o ten average over 1000
pounds. From 400 TO 600 pounds Of
fertilizers are used TO get a fair yield I
Wheat after tobacco yields on au
average from TO 20 bushels 20 the
acre, while yields OF 50 bushels have
been obtained. When no eriiiizer is /
used with tobacco. wheat seldom
yields much over T. bushels. The aver
age then is about S bushels Glover,
grow well, and when allowed to stand
two years a cutting of hay is taken the
second yea As corn j., not used in
the rotation, it is usually not grown
on places especially adapted 20 tobac-
co, but when it i, grown it yield, from
10 to 20 bushels. Whenever the sol. .
is of sufficient depth Irish and sweet
potatoes do we'll.
The Cecil clay is found associated /
with the Cecil sandy loan, it's total
area being 81 $50 acres. IL occurs i,o-
lated ON the higher parts Of the ridges /
except I'm a few instances where tick
tends down the slopes The largest .
area Of Cecil C ny occurs 70 the north F.
of Meherin. Other large areas are /
found ia the southeast part of the dis
trct surveyed The soils Of thi, for F.
nation are generally shallow, ayerag- /
ing about g inches in depth, but rang
ing from a mere covering TO q depth I
of about 10 inches. The soil, vary F.
from reddish-brown loan or clay
loan TO "a red or bnght-red, still, ten-
acious clay The former phase is
more desirable for cultivation. pro-
ducing better and being less difficult
TO work. These Cecil clay loamy
soil, are regarded as the best of the
area. The red Cecil clay breaks zap
lumpy, and care has TO be taken TO
pillow and cultivate It at the proper
time The subsoil varies from a heavy
red clay loan TO "a still tenacious red
clay, with mica in varying quantities
always present. ON thi. soil tobacco
will average 200 pounds more. and
wheat Will average at least bushels
more TO the acre than ON Cecil sandy
! am. Glover and grasses grow well
but corn is not usually grown upon IT,
The stiff character OF this formation
can be improved greatly by the use of
green manures. Where forested DO
has heavy growth Of hardwoods.
The Iredell clay loan is the most
extensive of the soils of the area, COM
prising as it does l08.07O acres. 10 d, a
prominent feature Of the slopes Of the
broader ridges and the tops of slopes
of the narrower ones. The soil ], q
grayi,h toyellowish sandy loan, with
a depth rarely exceeding DO inches.
The subsoil is a sticky yellow clay
loan underlain by a waXy or plastic
yellow clay. The imperyeou, charac-
ter ofthe subsoil cause, the soil, after
rain. to remain for some time too wet.
When it finally dries it bakes, and in
dry weather crops suffer much from
drought. The occurrence of this soil
on the slopes and the sticky m
peryeous characterof itssubsoiI makes
it rather undesirable. Formerly these