The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-05-09
.SURVEYSOF SOIL
in SO COUNTIES.
Large Portion Of Virginia Has
Been Inspected by Govern
ment Bureau.
HENRIco NEARLY COMPLETE.
County Should Supply Richmond
With All Needed
Vegetables.
BY r. H. MCGOWAN.
Especial to The Times Diapatch.1


Washington, May S.-The soil sur
vey OF Henrico County, Va, that is be (,
ing made by the Bureau Of Soils. United
States Department of Agriculture, will
be fnished in about six weeks. and
when that has been done the bureau
will have made surveys in thirty.eight
counties Of the State.
Complete surveys have been made of
Appomattox. Campbell, Chesterfield.
Hanover. Louisa and Montgomery
Counties, and partial surveys have been
made In Albemarle Amelia. Aunusta
Bedford. Botetourt. Buckingham, Char
lotte, Elizabeth City, Franklin, Glou-
cester, Greene. James City, Loudoun.
Lunenburg, Nansemond Nelson Nor
folk, Nottoway, Page. Prince Edward.
Princess Anne. Roanoke, Rockingham,
Warwick and York Counties.
The experts from the bureau who are
examining the soils OF Henrico County
have discovered up to the present time
number of valuable types. some OF
which are classed as the most produc-
tive trucking soils. being especially
adapted to the production OF Irish DO
tatoes. Enough is known to show that
there Is no reason why not only the
supply of vegetables consumed by
Richmond, but all chickens, eggs and
dairy products consumed by the In
habitants. could not be supplied on the
soils of the county, with large sur
plus for shipping.
The surveys made by the Bureau of
Soils in the State were made In dozen
separate areas, and We're divided as the
Piedmont plateau, Appalachian noun
tains and plateau, coastal plains, lime
stone valleys and uplands and river
| flood plain provinces, in which are sit
uated soil types that are adapted to the
growth and successful production of n
wide variety of crops, ranging from
the heavier types of agriculture to
every vegetable. and from the Common
variety of fruits to peanuts and to-
bacco, and soils that are adapted to
the profitable raising of cattle and
| hogs and the production of poultry
! products.
| About one-hfth of the State is COW
| cred by the coastal plaint with their
characteristic soils, over so per cent
of which are made up of the Norfolk
series of soils. wi!esh embrace the val
liable carly truck soils. Statistics
show that about 10000 acres of
these soils. or less than . per cent of
the area. the truck crops produce about
| $4,000. 600; on per cent. s4,500,000
worth of peanuts, arr on per cent,
s5.500,00 worth of sweet and early
Irish potatoes are produced ANNUALLY.
Therefore. ~ 10 per cent of the Nor
folk soils. which constitute about
per cent of the State, $4,000 900 worth
| of those crops are produced annually.
| The remaining 90 per cent of the Nor
| folk series of soils. investigation and
/ statistics show, are lying idle or are
used for very unaToductive system
! of general farming.
| The second most importatt resource
| of the coastal plains is the Portsmouth
series OF soils covering about Is per
! cent of the aren and valuable for GER
| tain varieties of Strawberries small
| berry fruits, cabbage. kale and spinach.
! About 80 per cent of he soils of the
! Piedmont plateau province are c2m-
/ posed of the Cecil series, pre- eminently
! adapted to corn. wheat and heavy mem
bers. to intensive forms of darying
! where the animals are kept up most
of the time and fed with grain and
| forage with minimum use of pas
ture. The Cecil clay loan and the
| Cecil clay, the heavier types OF the
Cecil series. require heavy drauaht
horses and heavy tools and farm equip
ment for successful agriculture, while
/ on the Cecil sandy loam,, the lighter
| type. the Importance of suitable crop
rotation and the supply of organic
matter and humus- forming material
artificially maintained and Increased
cannot be overestimated
| In the opinion of the experts of the
| Bureau of Soils the Cecil soils of the
State. when handled properly. will
usually yield an increase of from two
to three times over the present pro-
duction.
| The Louisa soils, covering about 22
per cent of the Piedmont plateau prov
| ince, resemble the Cecil soils In some
respects, but are not Fundamentally
as strong or AS productive. Accord
ingly they must be used for a differ
ent system of agriculture with differ
emit methods of cultivation and differ
nfaf vo1I ,>ln
the growing of legumes and winter
cover crops would improve them They
are best suited to the production of
corn, green forage crops and cotton.
The Chester series of soils of the
State are adapted to general farm
crops, as we'll as to fruit and canning
crops They are valuable soils, but
require and respond to skiliful treat
ment
The soil Of the limestone province
covers about lo per cent of the State.
They are the natural bluegrass soils
OF the State. furnishing the finest
pasture for stock and for extensive
dairying. They have long constituted
the great wheat and corn soils OF the
State, and arc pre-eminently adapted
to this type Of heavy general farm
ing Some of the types are admirably
adapted to the production of a varie-
ty OF fruits
The soils of the Appalachian prov
incc constitute about 90 per cent Of
the State, and are made up principal
ly of the Porters series and Dekalb
series of soils both admirably adapt
ed to pasture purposes and stock graz
Ing. and I'M the favored localities to
fruit. The Porters type is suited main
ly to apples and the Dekalb to peaches
The soils Of the river flood plain
province covers about per cent Of the
State, about 80 per cent OF which is
composed OF meadow and swamp await
Ing reclamation. and when developed
could be converted into the most i'm
~