GIFT OF

Aerie. Pent.

Agric. Dept.

SEP

QlFT Issued June 30, 1911.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

BUREAU OF SOILS— CIRCULAR No. 29.

MILTON WHITNEY, Chief of Bureau.

SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE— VII.

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM.

BY

JAY A. BONSTEEL,

Scientist in Soil Survey.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1911.

BUREAU OF SOILS.

MILTON WHITNEY, Chief of Bureau.
ALBERT G. RICE, Chief Clerk.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

FRANK K. CAMERON, in charge of Physical and Chemical Investigations.

CURTIS F. MARBUT, in charge of Soil Survey.

OSWALD SCHREINER, in charge of Fertility Investigations.

W J McGEE, in charge of Soil Water Investigations.

/ Vv" MC

o? MX
SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE— VII.

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

The Hagerstown loam is the most extensive of the valley limestone
soils. It has been encountered in 24 different soil survey areas
located in five different States, and in these areas 1,211,911 acres
have been mapped. The Hagerstown loam is a residual soil derived
through the partial solution of the massive blue limestones forming
the floor of the Great Valley, which extends from eastern Pennsyl-
vania across central Maryland and through western Virginia into
Tennessee, Kentucky, and northern Alabama. In addition to this
valley, which has been called the Cumberland Valley in Pennsylva-
nia, the Hagerstown Valley in Maryland, and the Shenandoah Valley
in Virginia, there are numerous smaller valleys included within the
Appalachian system, which also have this limestone for their floor,
and which are, therefore, occupied by the soils of the Hagerstown
series. The Hagerstown loam is found in practically all of these
main and minor valleys and it is remarkably uniform in its charac-
teristics throughout its extent.

In addition to these typical valley areas the same soil is found cov-
ering a large proportion of the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky and in the
Basin Region of central and southern Tennessee. In fact, the massive
blue and usually pure limestones of these localities normally give rise
to the soils of the Hagerstowrn series, and throughout the greater part
of its extent the Hagerstown loam dominates the other types of the
series.

As the soil survey work is extended additional important areas of
this soil series and soil type will be encountered in Pennsylvania,
Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and north-
ern Alabama.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL AND SUBSOIL.

The Hagerstown loam is characterized through practically its entire
extent by a brown or yellowish-brown silty loam surface soil having a
depth which ranges from 6 inches as a minimum to 12 or 14 inches in
the deeper areas. This surface soil is soft and mellow and usually has
the appearance of being well charged with organic matter. It grades

3

4 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

downward into a yellow heavy loam or clay loam subsoil, which in
turn grades into a heavier clay loam or clay subsoil at a depth of 2
feet to 1\ feet. This deeper subsoil is not infrequently of a brown or
reddish color and in practically all cases it is sharply bounded by the
underlying undissolved limestone rock. It is a general characteristic
of the type, as with other soils derived from the harder limestones,
that there is no gradation from subsoil into rock, but the subsoil
material rests upon an uneven and corroded rock floor. This arises
from the natural processes by which the soil is formed. It has been
produced by the partial or complete solution of the calcium carbonate
of the parent rock. The actual soil and subsoil material consists of
the less soluble residues which have accumulated over the rock itself.
There is thus no transition from rock to soil, as in case of soils derived
from granite or sandstone, but a sharp boundary instead.

Only where thin layers of sandy rock exist, or where there has been
an unusual amount of siliceous material in the limestone, are there to
be found stony or rocky areas within the region occupied by the
Hagerstown loam. The pure limestone which gives rise to the typical
areas does not contain a sufficient amount of the less soluble materials
to leave either stone or chert fragments in the soil or subsoil of this
type.

It is not infrequently the case, even in the most t}Tpical areas of the
Hagerstown loam, that uneven hardness in the rock or irregular solu-
tion, due to other causes, leaves ledges of the parent limestone which
protrude through the soil covering. These limestone ledges exist
even in the best fields in practically all the areas where the type has
been mapped. They are not entirely undesirable, since in many
localities they furnish a supply of limestone to be burned in kilns
upon the farm. The resulting stone lime is liberally applied to the
soil in all of the more northern communities, where this practice pre-
vails. These ledges also furnish building stone and material for the
construction of highways and give a considerable revenue in those
localities where they are thus utilized. The limestone ledges where
they are unduly numerous are to be avoided, especially for the pur-
poses of orchard planting, since the shallow covering of soil along their
flanks does not maintain a sufficient amount of moisture to satisfy
the needs of plants which are to occupy the ground for such a long
period of time as do fruit trees.

The Hagerstown loam is easily distinguished from the majority of
other soil types occurring within the same region. It is preeminently
"the limestone soil" as distinguished from soils derived from other
classes of rock. The surface soil is brown, friable, and soft and
easily distinguished from the Hagerstown clay, which is much stiver
and more tenacious. The soils of the Hagerstown series appear in
various positions, but always at relatively lower elevations than the

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM. 5

limestone soils of the Clarksville series, which are upland soils. The
soils of the latter series are usually to be distinguished from those
of the Hagerstown series by the gray color of the surface soil and
by the presence of small or large quantities of chert and flint in both
surface soil and subsoil.

SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE.

While the Hagerstown loam always occupies valley positions
with respect to other upland soils, its surface is by no means level.
In each particular area where it occurs, whether the soil be developed
in belts several miles broad and many miles long, or as small narrow
stretches, where the limestone still persists between bordering areas
of more resistant rocks, it has been weathered away by the solution
and removal of a large proportion of the calcium carbonate, or lime.
Irregularities in the rate of this solution, due to differences in the per-
meability or the hardness of the parent rock and to other causes,
have in all cases led to the development of a gently rolling to undu-
lating surface valley floor, and low ridges and rounded hills are sepa-
rated by minor valleys, small depressions, and the pitted, sink-hole
topography which is characteristic of the regions underlain by pure
limestones.

Owing to the fact that this soil type is distributed through a long
major valley and through a multitude of smaller separate valleys,
as well as to its geographical occurrence over a considerable range of
' territory, the absolute elevation of the surface of the type above sea
level varies considerably. In general, however, the greater part of the
area of the Hagerstown loam is found at an altitude ranging from
about 250 feet to approximately 1,000 feet above sea level. Certain
separated valleys, however, are found at altitudes as high as 2,000
feet. The minor irregularities of elevation within the different areas
of the type are usually included within a range of 200 feet, although
this is sometimes exceeded, particularly in the more southern areas.

In addition to the major streams which flow through and across
these limestone areas and furnish an adequate surface drainage to the
type, there is also hi many of the areas an intricate underground
drainage through caverns in the limestone rock. The surface waters
flow across the soil for short distances and sink through round and
kettle-shaped depressions into the crevices and caves hollowed
within the underlying limestone. In this manner the drainage is
carried off by underground streams and rivers which reappear in
many instances at distant points in the form of great " boiling springs."
This underground drainage in addition to the surface drainage is
characteristic of the areas covered by soils of limestone derivation
and particularly of the soils of the Hagerstown series.

6 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

It is only in the more southern areas where the precipitation occurs
principally in the form of heavy rain storms and where the total
annual precipitation approaches 50 inches that erosion is at all a
serious problem in connection with the tillage of the Hagerstown
loam. In general the slopes included within the areas of this soil
type are rather gentle. The rain water finds a deep and mellow bed
into which it may percolate and the existence of innumerable small
crevices, sink holes, and caverns within the limestone affords sufficient
outlet to atmospheric water so that the washing of the surface soil is
not serious. It is only upon the steeper slopes in the regions of the
heaviest precipitation that this difficulty is encountered. Even in
such regions erosion is not so serious a matter as upon other soil
types, since the Hagerstown loam is a natural grass land, and areas
which are not continuously under cultivation tend rapidly to reclothe
themselves with native grasses like the Kentucky blucgrass, forming
a thick surface mat of vegetation and of roots which serve to pre-
vent erosion.

LIMITATIONS OF USES.

The Hagerstown loam is so well adapted to the production of the
staple general farming crops that its use for such purposes has practi-
cally eliminated any attempt at its development for special purposes,
unless the production of certain grades of tobacco and the growing
of hemp in Kentucky might be so considered. The type is easily
tilled; the soil and subsoil are retentive of moisture; and they are
adequately drained in practically all cases. In neaily all areas where
the Hagerstown loam has been encountered, a sufficient supply of
organic matter has been maintained in the surface soil for all practical
purposes of high-class agriculture. With the exception of a few lime-
stone ledges already noted, there are few mechanical obstructions to
the cultivation of this soil. These qualifications in the nature of the
soil itself have rendered it one of the most fertile and most highly
prized general farming soils to be found in the extreme eastern por-
tion of the United States. In fact the high value of this soil for such
purposes has given rise to the current saying that " a limestone soil is
always a fertile soil." This is practically universally true so far as
the soils of the Hagerstown series are concerned, and particularly
with reference to the Hagerstown loam. It is not necessarily true
of all limestone soils.

There are undoubtedly other uses than the production of corn,
wheat, oats, grass, hemp, and tobacco to which the Hagerstown loam
might be put, but so long as it equals or excels all other soils in the
area in which it occurs in the production of these crops, there would
be very little incentive to undertake the production of specialties.
The only present tendency toward specialization is in the planting of

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM. 7

apple orchards in certain localities, and it is probable that for certain
varieties the Hagerstown loam constitutes one of the best soils for
apple production to be found in the limestone valley regions. This
phase of specialization will be discussed under the head of crop
adaptations.

IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL EFFICIENCY.

From what has already been said of the characteristics of the
Hagerstown loam it will be apparent that in general the present
efficiency of this soil may be rated very high. There are certain
areas, however, particularly in the more southern regions where the
type is found, in which the soil .efficiency might be improved, chiefly
by the application of those methods of tillage and soil treatment
which are common to the greater proportion of the type.

There has been a tendency in northern Alabama and in southern
Tennessee to plant too large an acreage of this soil continuously
to cotton or to corn. If total crop production throughout a long
period of years is to be considered, it would be better, even in these
locations where cotton growing is climatically possible, to adopt a
rotation in which cotton and corn should take their proper place as
the hoed crops in the rotation, to be followed by cowpeas or a small
grain, and such crops in turn to be followed by seeding down to grasses
among which clover should have an important place. Such a change
in the cropping system upon this soil type would tend to prevent soil
erosion in the only locations where this is a serious problem upon the
Hagerstown loam. It will also result in a decided increase in the
yields of the money crops included in the rotation.

In general the Hagerstown loam is adequately and efficiently
tilled. In some localities, however, the gradual increasing of the
depth of plowing is to be recommended, until the brown loamy
surface soil has been increased in depth to 8 or 10 inches. This modi-
fication of the surface soil characteristics is not difficult, provided a
little care is taken to incorporate organic matter and to plow about 1
inch deeper each year that the soil is broken. This necessity only
exists over a small proportion of the entire area of the type.

In general, the drainage of the Hagerstown loam is adequate in all
areas where it occurs.

It is only upon the more sloping and rolling areas of the Hagerstown
loam, in the more southern locations where rainfall is heavy, that
protection from erosion is usuaUy required. The very simple expe-
dients of contour farming, with the establishment of the few terraces
left in grass, will usually meet all the requirements for protection on
this type. This is especially the case where a proper rotation, includ-
ing two or three years in grass during a part of the rotation is prac-
ticed. The ease with which a clover seeding is secured and the particu-

8 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

lar adaptation of the Hagerstown loam to the production of Kentucky
bluegrass predispose the areas of this type toward a natural grass
covering. This peculiarity everywhere tends to minimize the difficul-
ties experienced with erosion.

In general there is a satisfactory amount of organic matter in the
surface soils of the Hagerstown loam. Wherever this supply has been
depleted by the long-continued cultivation of intertilled crops, the
restoration of organic matter is easily possible through the production
of cowpeas, of which the roots and stubble should be incorporated in
the soil, or through the laying down of the soil to grass and the plowing
in of the sod at the end of two or three years' time. Little difficulty
is experienced in maintaining the organic supply of the surface soil
where these practices are in vogue.

Although in certain regions the Hagerstown loam has been culti-
vated for a period of more than 150 years with practically no appli-
cations of any mineral fertilizers and without any diminution of
crop yield, yet the application of organic manures and particularly
of large quantities of burned stone lime have been general through
the best tilled and most fertile localities where this type is found.
In more recent years also the application of mineral fertilizers, par-
ticularly in connection with the growing of the small grain crops,
has become more general. The fertilizers thus applied are usually
complete commercial mixtures with a large content of phosphoric
acid and only moderate percentages of potash and of nitrogen.
Satisfactory increases in the yield of wheat from such applications
are generally reported, whether the source of phosphoric acid has
been the phosphate rock, bone meal, or other organic source.

One of the peculiarities of soil treatment upon the Hagerstown
loam, particularly in the Pennsylvania and Maryland areas where it
occurs, has been that of heavy applications of lime at least once in
the five-year rotation commonly practiced upon this soil type.
Although the Hagerstown loam is directly derived from limestone
rock, the method of its derivation is such, through the solution of
the lime carbonate, that the noncalcareous impurities in the rock
constitute the greater part of the residue which remains to form the
soil and subsoil. Thus, though the soils of the Hagerstown series,
including the Hagerstown loam, are limestone soils, they are not
necessarily calcareous soils. At the same tune lime rock is present
at little depth upon practically all farms where this soil occurs and
upon the majority of such farms there are outcroppings and ledges
of the rock. Even the early settlers in southeastern Pennsylvania
soon learned to burn this rock lime in their own kilns, using timber
cut upon the farm for firewood. The practice of using this burned
stone lime upon the soils of the Hagerstown series began during the
period of the Revolutionary War and has been conducted uninter-

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM. 9

ruptcdly since. Heavy applications, 40 to 50 bushels per acre, are
not uncommon and even greater quantities are sometimes used.
The application of the lime is generally made just before the seeding
of the ground to wheat, and with the wheat crop the seeding to grass
and clover is also made. The heavy yields of these crops upon
properly limed areas of the Hagerstown loam fully justify the labor
and expense of the application of the lime. —

Aside from the inherent characteristics of the soil itself which main-
tain good texture, good structure, and a favorable condition of organic
matter content, it is probable that the frequent applications of large
quantities of lime constitute one of the greatest factors in the mainte-
nance of the high average yields of wheat and of hay secured from
this type. The contrast between the yields reported from limed andi
unlimed areas of the type tend to establish this conclusion.

LIMITATIONS UPON SPECIAL CROPS.

The chief special crops produced upon Hagerstown loam are hemp
in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky, and the White Burley tobacco
in the same district, together with cigar-filler tobacco in a very local-
ized area in southeastern Pennsylvania. Aside from these crops;
apples constitute practically the only other special crop produced
upon this type. The reasons for these limitations have already been
given. It is probable that inherited customs in farming have ruled
to some degree, but climatic circumstances have chiefly limited the
production of hemp and of tobacco to the regions mentioned. There
is no reason why the White Burley tobacco should not be produced
upon the Hagerstown loam to excellent advantage in the Basin Region
of Tennessee or in the valley region of western Virginia. TJiere is no
reason why the cigar-filler tobacco such as is raised in Lancaster
County, Pa., should not also be produced upon this type in the Penn-
sylvania counties west of the Susquehanna River, or even in the
Hagerstown and Frederick Valleys of Maryland, but these crops are
practically unknown outside of the restricted areas indicated. The
local knowledge of the care of these crops and the local demand for
them constitute the chief limitations upon the area of their produc-
tion.

In apple orcharding the Hagerstown loam has been recognized as
well suited to the production of certain varieties suited to low alti-
tudes and rather warm temperate climates. In general only those
locations within the Hagerstown loain which possess some altitude
and particularly good air and water drainage have been selected for
the location of apple orchards. Too frequently land of this type,
which because of some local peculiarities was somewhat rough or was
interrupted by ledges, has been chosen for the establishment of apple
orchards. While these locations are not so desirable as others found
93119°— Cir. 29—11 2

10 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

within the type, they have constituted areas which the individual
farmer was willing to set aside from his general farming operations
in order to establish either his home orchard or a small planting upon
a commercial scale. Thus apple orcharding within recent times has
been decidedly of secondary importance in all areas occupied by the
Hagerstown loam. This limitation of the type with regard to fruit
culture is economic rather than inherent in the soil or in its climatic
surroundings.

•

EXTENT OF OCCUPATION.

The Hagerstown loam was one of the first soils in the eastern United
States to be cleared of its heavy timber growth and occupied for farm
use. Pioneer agriculture in southeastern Pennsylvania had its begin-
ning upon this soil type and upon associated soils in the same general
region. By the beginning of the eighteenth century the superior
productiveness of the soils of the Hagerstown series, including the
Hagerstown loam, had been recognized and the land was eagerly
sought for the establishment of farms. With the influx of the German
population into southeastern Pennsylvania about 1740 there was an
added demand for these lands, since these settlers soon learned to
prize the limestone soils above all others in the region. As a result
the limestone valleys of the southeastern counties of Pennsylvania
were rapidly filled with careful, skillful, German farmers. No labor
was too great in the clearing of the heavy hardwood growths from
soils of this character, and even the earliest title deeds to land in the
region carefully set aside the period of time when the waters of local
streams might be used by adjoining landowners for the purposes of
irrigation. No little engineering skill was shown in storing the water
of the smaller streams and even in conducting such waters across low
divides for the purposes of watering the meadows, upon which prac-
tically all grass was grown at that period. Some of these irrigation
systems are still maintained practically upon their original lines,
though many have now fallen into disuse. With the growth of popu-
lation the descendants of these early German settlers frequently
followed these valley lands to the south and southwest and became
established in the Hagerstown and Frederick Valleys of Maryland
and even in the Great Valley of Virginia. Wherever the limestone
valleys led them these careful farmers pushed on. The same high
estimation of these soils of the Hagerstown series, dominated by the
Hagerstown loam, was rapidly acquired by settlers of other origin.
Thus during the 200 years during which soils of this character have
been known to American farming, the Hagerstown loam and its
associated soils have been eagerly sought for complete occupation
by the best farmers. As a result very little land of this character
remains uncleared and untilled, and practically every available acre

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM. 11

in all localities where this soil type is found has been brought under
cultivation and is maintaining a high-class agriculture. So great
has been the demand for lands of this character that in regions reason-
ably near market facilities the values frequently run to $250 or $350
an acre, solely for the purpose of producing general farm crops like
corn, wheat, and grass. In other more remote regions and under
somewhat less skillful management the soils range in value from $30
or $40 to $100 an acre, but in all cases the Hagerstown loam and its
associated limestone soils are the most valuable of any in the communi-
ties where it and other soils occur. For these reasons the extension
of agriculture upon this type is scarcely possible, although the
improvement of agricultural conditions is still attainable in many
areas where the type is found. Such improvements will necessarily
follow the lines already indicated by the most skillful farmers in the
best tilled areas of this soil.

CROP ADAPTATIONS.

The Hagerstown loam is almost universally esteemed for the pro-
duction of corn. For this crop it possesses even a higher rating than
the Hagerstown clay. The acreage yields vary considerably, depend-
ing upon the care with which the land is prepared and upon the skill
exercised in tending the crop. In southeastern Pennsylvania, hi
Maryland, and throughout the Valley of Virginia a yield of 40 bushels
of shelled corn per acre upon the Hagerstown loam would be consid-
ered a low average yield, while many farmers, by exercising the
greatest care under favorable climatic conditions, have been able to
maintain average acreage yields of 75 to 80 bushels throughout a
considerable period of time. Even in the more southern States,
where the climatic surroundings are possibly less favorable, the
standard average yields for the Hagerstown loam are about 25
bushels per acre, with not infrequent yields under better tillage
systems of 50 and 60 bushels per acre. The friable, easily worked
surface soil, the heavy, retentive subsoil, the excellent store of
organic matter in th« surface soil, and the ease of cultivation of the
land, all tend to make the Hagerstown loam an ideal corn soil within
the Eastern States.

In all latitudes where the Hagerstown loam is found it is esteemed
as a wheat soil, but generally the Hagerstown clay has the reputation
of producing slightly larger yields. In Maryland and Pennsylvania
the wheat yields upon the Hagerstown loam vary between 20 bushels
and 35 bushels per acre, with a general average of about 28 bushels.
This is nearly double the average wheat yield for the United States
taken as a whole. In Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee the wheat
yields range from 15 to 25 bushels with a general average of approxi-
mately 20 bushels per acre. Even in Alabama, where wheat is

12 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

raised only to a limited extent, yields upon the Hagerstown loam are:
reported at 12 to 20 bushels per acre and the acreage devoted to this
crop in the northern counties where the type occurs is being grad-
ually extended. Greater familiarity with the crop, resulting in
greater skill in its management, will undoubtedly increase these
yields if wheat culture is continued in that locality.

Upon the Hagerstown loam oats are raised extensively, but in all
localities are considered subordinate in importance and are certainly
subordinate in acreage to wheat. In fact, in the more northern
States the production of oats upon the Hagerstown loam is probably
decreasing annually since the yields are not sufficiently high to com-*
pensate for the greater value per bushel of the wheat crop and oats
are thus at an economic disadvantage upon the Hagerstown loam.
The yields in the more northern States range from 25 to 40 bushels
per acre and hi the more southern latitudes from 20 to 30 bushels per
acre. These yields are no higher than may be secured for oats upon
other soil types which are less valuable for corn and wheat produc-
tion and the crop is thus being excluded from any extensive pro-
duction upon the Hagerstown loam.

The Hagerstown loam is universally esteemed as a grass soil.
It is the soil which underlies the great Bluegrass Region of Kentucky
and the similar bluegrass region of the Basin Section of Tennessee.
Kentucky bluegrass is also a native upon this soil type in the Great
Valley of Virginia and northward into Pennsylvania. The wide-
spread distribution of the Kentucky bluegrass upon the Hagerstown
loam and its associated soils has given rise to the existence throughout
the period of its cultivation of excellent pasturage facilities in many
States. For the finishing of beef cattle probably no other natural
pasture grass is so valuable. As a result, the utilization of blue-
grass pasture upon this type for beef production has been common
since the earliest days of its occupation for agricultural purposes.
With the introduction of other tame grasses the production of timothy
and of red clover soon became general upon the Hagerstown loam.
These grasses furnish a larger yield for the cutting of hay, and thus
the corn production upon the type and bluegrass pasturage already
established were early supplemented by the growing of the mixed
tame grasses.

Hay constitutes one of the crops extensively grown upon the
Hagerstown loam and the yields are universally good. In Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, the yield of hay ranges from 1 to 2
tons with an average of about 1J tons per acre. This is equaled in
many places in Tennessee and in Kentucky, while in Alabama, com-
monly supposed to be south of the natural grass belt, the yields of
hay in those areas where clover and timothy have been generally
sown have ranged from 1 to 1J tons per acre, an amount unusually high

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM. 13

for this latitude. Thus the Hagerstown loam throughout its extent
is an unusually valuable soil for the production of the bluegrass for
pasturage purposes, and of timothy and clover for the cutting of hay.
More recently alfalfa has been introduced as a forage crop in many
widely scattered locations upon the Hagerstown loam. In general
the introduction of this crop has been successful. Good stands may
be secured in practically all areas where the combined depth of soil
and subsoil exceeds 3 feet, unless there is some unusual obstruction to
subsoil drainage. In all cases the liming of the soil and its careful
inoculation before seeding to this crop are highly essential. The
area annually planted to alfalfa should be greatly extended through-
out the territory occupied by the Hagerstown loam. In fact, it is
one of the best soils of the Eastern and Southeastern States for
the production of this crop.

These constitute the basic staple crops most universally grown
upon the Hagerstown loam.

In addition to these crops the cigar-filler tobacco is raised upon the
Hagerstown loam, chiefly in Lancaster County, Pa. Under the care-
ful farming of that county the acreage yields range from 1,500 pounds
to 2,200 pounds, and tobacco constitutes a valuable accessory to the
other crops produced upon the farm. Throughout the region occu-
pied by the Hagerstown loam in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky
the White Burley tobacco for manufacturing and export purposes
is widely grown. The yields of this tobacco range from 1,000 to 2,000
pounds per acre, with a general average lying somewhere between
1,200 and 1,500 pounds. In both instances the tobacco fields usually
occupy only a part of the territory annually given to the production
of hoed crops and commonly tobacco displaces a part of the corn
acreage which would normally be planted. It constitutes a valuable
money crop in both of these localities.

Hemp is not raised to any extent upon the Hagerstown loam except
in Kentucky. The yields average about 1,200 pounds of fiber per
acre. It is reported that the acreage devoted to hemp is being
decreased even in this section.

There are several accessory crops which, owing to climatic pecu-
liarities or to local demand, are grown upon the Hagerstown loam.
Thus in northern Alabama and in southern Tennessee the preva-
lence of cotton farming in near-by localities has led to the growing
of this crop upon the Hagerstown loam. The soil occurs only near
the northern limits of the climatic adaptation of cotton, and while
the yields range from one-third to three-fourths bale an acre, it
cannot be said that cotton growing has any strong foothold upon
the Hagerstown loam. Similarly cowpeas are grown to a limited
extent in this more southern region as a forage crop in connection
with corn. In a few localities hi Tennessee a small acreage of canta-

14 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

loupes has recently been planted upon this soil type, but it is believed
that certain of the soils of the Clarksville series will be found to be
better suited for the extension of this crop. Strawberries have also
been grown locally upon the Hagerstown loam. In a few localities
in northern Alabama peanuts and tomatoes have been successfully
grown upon the type. All of these crops may be considered as of
subordinate importance if the total extent of the Hagerstown loam
in the eastern United States is held in view, although each has con-
siderable importance in the particular locality where it is grown.

Fruits. — In general the Hagerstown loam has been considered
too valuable for the production of corn, wheat, grass, or tobacco to
be devoted extensively to the production of any tree fruits. How-
ever, there has been a growing appreciation of the value of this soil
for the production of certain types of apples. In southeastern
Pennsylvania locations within the area of the Hagerstown loam
which possess good air and water drainage and over which the sur-
face soil has a depth of 12 to 18 inches have been selected for the
planting of the York Imperial, the Stayman Winesap, and the
Smokehouse apples. The two former are adapted to all properly
drained areas of the type, while the Smokehouse is only well suited
to production upon the deeper phase already mentioned. Farther
south, in Maryland and in Virginia, there are some commercial
orchards upon this type, and here orchards of the York Imperial,
Ben Davis, Stayman Winesap, Yellow Transparent, and Grimes
Golden have been planted. They bear rank in the order named
in then* degree of adaptation to production upon this type. The
first three of these apples might well be grown at proper elevations
upon the Hagerstown loam hi the valleys of eastern Tennessee.

Peaches are not well suited to production upon the Hagerstown
loam in any of its areas. By contrast they are well suited to the
production upon other types commonly found in association with it,
and the planting of peach orchards is not, therefore, to be recom-
mended upon this type.

Because of the preeminent adaptation of the Hagerstown loam
to the production of corn, wheat, and grass as standard crops and of
tobacco and hemp as special crops, the agriculture of the regions
dominated by this type has naturally gravitated into a certain
standard crop rotation. In the more northern regions in Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, and the Valley of Virginia this standard rotation
consists of one year of corn followed by either one or two years of
wheat, which is succeeded by two years of grass production, when
the rotation again returns to corn. This is one of the oldest standard
rotations in the eastern United States, and it has undoubtedly been
maintained without interruption upon some of the older farms in south-
eastern Pennsylvania since the middle of the eighteenth century.

THE HAGERSTOWN LOAM. 15

The production of hemp or tobacco in Kentucky has but slightly
modified this rotation. In that locality either tobacco or hemp occu-
pies the acreage for the first year, or it may be divided between the
two crops. These crops are followed in the second year by corn, then
by wheat, and ultimately by two years to grass seeding. In Tennessee
the corn, wheat, and grass rotation is prevalent, while in northern
Alabama either cotton and corn in alternation or cotton, corn, and
wheat constitute the beginning of a rotation which will probably
become standardized with that of the more northern locations as the
grass-producing value of the soil comes to be appreciated. Thus the
Hagerstown loam almost universally maintains the old standard
rotation of corn, wheat, and grass which has been used for 200 years
upon portions of this type. It still excels the majority of the soils of
the United States hi the production of each of these crops. In Ken-
tucky the type has withstood 125 years of constant crop production
with little fertilization, and the yields now reported from considerable
areas do not differ from yields recorded in 1797 within the same areas.
This may be attributed to the excellent inherent characteristics of the
soil itself and to the persistent use of a rational crop rotation. Simi-
larly in eastern Pennsylvania this soil constitutes the mainstay of as
prosperous and perfect a general-farming system as can be found in
the United States. Here, also, known records of crop yields establish
the fact that these have been increased rather than decreased by two
centuries of well-regulated farming. It would be difficult to demon-
strate in any more conclusive way the fact of continued and even
increased soil efficiency when the best farming methods are applied to
the tillage of a naturally productive soil.

FARM EQUIPMENT.

The Hagerstown loam requires for its proper tillage, and easily sup-
ports by its crop production, the heavy farm teams which are required
for the best general-farming purposes. While the surface soil is friable
and easily tilled, its considerable depth requires the use of horses
weighing from 1,300 to 1,500 pounds apiece, either in the double teams
or in the 4-horse hitch which is common in Pennsylvania, Maryland,
and Virginia. In this connection the heavier plows arid tillage imple-
ments are also most economically used, in order to effect the deep
plowing and thorough tillage required by the type. Corresponding
with this portion of the equipment, the other farming tools and farm
machinery are usually strong, well built, and ample in size for farm
purposes. In some portions of the area occupied by the type it is
unusual to see less than a 4-horse team used, even for the most
simple purposes of the farm operations.

Long years of successful tillage of this land have generally given
rise to such prosperity that the farm buildings upon the farms

16 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

chiefly covered by the Hagerstown loam frequently have a value
approximating that of the land itself. In southeastern Pennsyl-
vania it is not uncommon to see two and three story barns which
have cost from $6,000 to $10,000 for their construction, and substantial
brick or stone houses which have been erected at half that price.
Throughout the area where the Hagerstown loam is found, the prev-
alence of the type may easily be detected by the substantial farm
buildings and the well-kept appearance of these and all other farm
equipment. Generations of prosperous farming have rendered this
possible.

The grass and gram farming which is prevalent upon the soil type
have not only necessitated these larger buildings for the storage of
the crops, but in many instances have also necessitated provision
for the stabling and care both of the work stock and beef animals
which are matured and fattened upon this produce. In addition,
well-constructed tobacco barns are to be found wherever that crop
is also grown. It is not infrequently the case, particularly in south-
eastern Pennsylvania, that the farmer will also maintain a lime
kiln, which he has constructed for the purpose of burning the lime
rock for use upon his own fields. Not every farm is thus provided,
but in each community several kilns are likely to be found.

In this way the character of the soil, its natural crop adaptations,
and the logical use of these crops have dominated the character of
the equipment in teams, tools, and buildings found upon the farms
occupied by the Hagerstown loam.

SUMMARY.

The Hagerstown loam is the most extensive and agriculturally the
most important of the valley limestone soils.

It occurs from southeastern Pennsylvania through Maryland, the
Great Valley of Virginia, and associated minor valleys of West Vir-
ginia and Tennessee, southward to the valley regions of northern
Alabama. It also occupies a considerable area in the Bluegrass
Region of Kentucky and in the Basin Region of central Tennessee.

It is a soil adapted to the production of the staple, general farm
crops rather than to the growing of any unusual special crops.

It is chiefly suited to the production of corn, wheat, and grass, with
oats as a minor small-grain crop.

It is a soil which on account of its high and well-sustained pro-
ducing capacity has largely given rise to the reputation of limestone
soils for fertility.

In certain localities it also constitutes an excellent soil for
production of the White Burley tobacco and of cigar-filler tobacco.

In Kentucky alone it is utilized for the production of hemp.

THE HAGEESTOWN LOAM. 17

Owing to climatic surroundings it is also used for the production
of cotton and cowpeas in northern Alabama.

In general this type has been held at too high a value for general
farming purposes to permit of its extensive use for orcharding, but
in some portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia it has
been planted to a restricted number of apple varieties.

The Hagerstown loam was early sought as a valuable general farm-
ing soil and has been completely occupied by productive and valuable
farms.

Its crop producing capacity has been maintained and in many
instances increased during 200 years of cultivation.

The proper disposition of the corn and grass grown upon this type,
together with the prevalence of native bluegrass pasture over it, led
at an early date to the establishment of beef production as an impor-
tant branch of farming on its area.

The Hagerstown loam easily holds high rank among the most
fertile soils in the eastern portion of the United States.

Approved.

JAMES WILSON,

Secretary of Agriculture.

APPENDIX.

The following table shows the extent of the Hagerstown loam
in the areas surveyed to this time.

In the first column is stated the particular soil survey in which
the soil was encountered; in the second column, its extent of devel-
opment in acres; and in the third column, the volume of the Field
Operations of the Bureau of Soils in which the report upon the
area may be found. Those desiring a detailed description of the
soil and of the general conditions which surround it in any particular
area may consult these volumes in almost any public library.

Areas of the Hagerstown loam encountered in the soil survey.

Survey.

Area of
soil.

Year of
publica-
tion,
lield
Opera-
tions.

Alabama:
Etowah County

Acres.
19,328

1908

Fort Payne area . .

21 032

1903

HUB tsviile area .'

138 944

1903

Jefferson Count v

24,7(;8

1908

Lauderdale County l . . . ...

60 992

1905

Kentucky:
Madison County .

107 072

1905

Mason County

2-2,384

1903

Scott County

76,800

1903

Pennsylvania:
Adams County

16,064

1904

Berks County

71,680

1909

Center County

21,760

1908

Chester County

19/56

1905

45 f'OO

1900

Lebanon area

93,110

1901

Montgomery County

11,840

1905

Tennessee:
Davidson Countv J

163,200

1903

Giles Countv s

74.240

1907

Greenville area 3

83,520

1904

Lawrence County '

10 880

1904

Pikeville area

20,352

1903

Virginia:
Albemarle area

30, 784

1902

Bedford area

40,520

1901

Leesburg area

4,864

1903

Montgomery County

22 400

1907

18

i Mapped as Clarksville clay loam.

'Mapped, in part, as Davidson loam; in part, as Hagerstown loam.

» Mapped as Fort Payne loam.

O

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