The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-05-07
SOIL SURVEY OF STATE
HAS BEEN ALMOST COMPLETED
BY THE GOVERNMENT.

There Are Seventy.three Differen
Types of Soil in State-Only Foul
of Them General
The bureau of soils, United State.
department of agriculture has made
soil surveys Of over hale o: The tota
land area Of South Carolina. or ovel
$1,000 square miles, a. cost o.
about $4,000. During the surveys
73 different types of soil were en-
countered and mapped, on which al
most any type of agriculture coult
be practised, particularly the variou:
types of trucking crops and the heav'
ier types of agriculture. In addition
thousands of acres we're encountered
suitable for excellent cattle raising.
The counties in which soil surveys
have been made in the state are Alb.
beville area, embracing parts OF Al.
beville, Anderson, Greenwood and
Laurens counties; Campobello area
embracing parts Of Greenvii!s and
Spartanburg counties; Charlest N
area, embracing parts Of Charleston
and Colleton counties; Conway area,
embracing part Of Horny county;
Darlington area, embracing Darling
ton county and part Of Lee county
Orangeburg area, embracing part o:
Orangeburg county, and the follow.
ing counties: Bamberg, Barnwe1,
Cherokee, Chester, Clarendon, Fair
field, Georgetown, Lancaster, Oconee,
Orangeburg (in progress), Saluda,
Sumter, York and Union counties Tin
progress.l =.
The soil survey work has developed
four main soil provinces in the state,
namely the coastal plain, Piedmont
plateau, Appalachian mountains and
the flood plains. The soils of these
provinces differ widely in character
and adaptation.
The coastal plain province, which
is situated in the eastern part Of the
State, consists of soil material that
was washed down from the higher
country, now classed in four main
soil series which are the Norfolk Sc
ries, classed as the most valuable
trucking soils of the Atlantic States
and excellent cotton, corn, oats and
forage soils; the Orangeburg series
which are admirably adapted to the
production of Irish potatoes, corn
peaches and wrapped tobacco; the
Portsmouth series, which, when re-
claimed, are we'll adapted to the pro-
duction of strawberries and vegeta-
bles, corn and forage crops, and Cox
Vile series, which are classed as fine
soils for the production Of strawber-
ries, oats, corn and cotton. The soils
OF the Coxville series are prominent
flat woods soils, but at presetn are
inadequately drained
The Norfolk series surveyed
amounts to about 100000 acres; the
Orangeburg series 100000; the
Portsmouth series about 100000 and
the Coxville series about 100000
acres, including about 125,000 acres
of swamp and 100000 acres Of tidal
cwann and marsh land.
The Piedmont province consists OF
three main series of soil types and
others of minor Importance, namely,
the Cecil, classed as excellent general
farming soils and the sander mem
bers being we'll adapted to a large
variety of vegetables; the Durham
series, regarded as good for general
farming and the lighter members as
excellent trucking soils; the 1redell
=c-ies, recommended as good soils for
cotton and corn and grain crops. The
area surveyed contains about 1,90o,-
90 acres of the Cecil series, $4,000
acres of the Durham series and about
$4,000 of the Iredell series.
Much of the soil In the Appalach-
ianmountains is suited only for for
estry purposes, although the Porters
series contain what is regarded as
the best apple soils Of the South. A
portion of the region is we'll adapted
to the production of wheat, corn, sye
and barley while some of the series
are admirably adapted to the produc-
ton of Irish potatoes.
About 10000 acres Of land have
been surveyed in the Flood Plains
province which, when reclaimed by
ditching and diking are the most
productive soils Of the State. Howev-
er. much Of the terrace or second
botto msoils are considered veay val
liable for the production of corn, cot
TIM, oats and cowpeas.
The soil surveys have demonstrat-
ed that the State contains large ar
ca of very productive land on which
improved farming methods are prac-
ticed. The State has no land that Is
reclaimed that can not be used profi-
tably for agricultural purposes. How
ever, there is a great deal of land
that is at present not in use or on
which farming methods are indifer-
ent
Soil surveys of some Of the coun-
ties demonstrated that a large per
cent. was not under cultivation al
though the soils were Of high quail
ity and that they could be converted
into profitable fields. The Ports
mouth soil, for instance, has large
acreage that is not under cultivation
but when we'll drained produces
fine quality of tea, good corn, celery
onions, cabbage and forage crops.
The possibility and necessity for
the production of more wheat, vege-
h,,tfor tho Cf2ta ie