Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1910-11-22
THE BUREAU OF THE SOIL
United States Department OF
Agriculture Gives Some ADJ
vice
REPORT ON COUNTY SURVEY
The Soils OF Anne Arundel Belong To
The Coastal Plain PROVING e-Group.
ed Ia Five Series


The United States Department OF
Agriculture has issued, through the
Bureau of Soils, the report on the
soil survey of Anne Arundel county,
Md The report contains a descrip-
tion of the area, its climate, agricul-
ture and soils, and is accompanied by
large map showing in colors, the To-
cation and extent of the various soil
types encountered.
Copies of the report may be obtain
ed from the representative in Con-
gress from the district which includes
Anne Arundel county, from either of
the Senator'S from the State or from
the Department of Agriculture di-
rect. The following is a summary of
the report:
"Anne Arundel has been an agri-
cultural county since its first settle
ment. Tobacco and corn we're grown
by the Indians before the white man
came. Owing to the splendid mar
kets close at hand the agriculture of
the county has changed radically in
the last twenty-five years from gen.
eral farming to trucking. The Ches-
apeake and it tributaries furnish ex-
cellent shipping facilities.
1.-The southern part of the county
has a variety of soils, some of which
are we'll adapted to the growing of
truck, but the poor railroad facilities
of that section have hindered the
development of the trucking indus
try. General crops are most largely
grown there.
In the northern part the truck
growing business has had a remark
able development, due to the near
ness of large markets to which pro-
ducts may be hauled by wagon, the
adaptation of the soil to the purpose
and the unfailing supply of stable
manure. The climate is temperate.
The rainfall is ample and usually
well distributed throughout the grow
ing season. Protracted droughts
occasionally do some injury 10 crops,
but destructive hail and windstorms
seldom occur.
The soils of the county all belong
to the Coastal Plain province. These
are grouped in five series. The most
important general farming types are
the Sassafras fine sandy loan, the
Sassafras silt loan and the Colington
sandy loan. The trucking soils of
the county are the Norfolk sand
and Sassafras sand. The Susque-
hanna sandy loan is a fairly good
soil for general farming, and is a
splendid soil for. peaches, as we'll
as for some varieties of apples,
pears and small fruits.
Practically all the soils of the
area are deficient in organic matter.
At present the greatest needs of the
county are the more general practice
of systematic crop rotation, the plow-
ing under of more green crops, such
as crimson clover and cowpeas, the
more extensive use of improved
farm machinery and the keeping of
more live stock in the general farm
ing sections. In the trucking sec.
tio3s too much money is being ex-
pended for commercial fertilizers and
stable manure. This enormous ex-
penditure might be greatly reduced
by the growing and plowing under of
more green crops.
"The growing of peaches may
well be extended and the growing of
some varieties of apples, summer
and fall sorts, peas and small fruits
can also be developed to advantage
on suitable soils where market con-
ditions are good. Moderate methods
of orcharding must be employed.
however, to insure success.