GIFT OF

Apie. Dnpt.

Agric. Dept.

191

Issued May 4, 1911.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

BUREAU OF SOILS— CIRCULAR No. 24.

MILTON WHITNEY, Chief of Bureau.

SOIIS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE— HI.

THE PORTSMOUTH SANDY LOAM.

BY

JAY A. BONSTEEL,

Scientist in Soil Survey.

WASHINGTON :

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1911.

•^y "

1
// r, r -r M r

BUREAU OF SOILS.

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

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

FRANK K. CAMERON, in charge of Physical arid 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.
2

SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE-HI.
THE PORTSMOUTH SANDY LOAM.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

The Portsmouth sandy loam occurs, chiefly in the vicinity of the
coast line, from central Delaware south to northern Florida, and
thence west along the Gulf of Mexico nearly to the Mississippi
Eiver. Soil surveys throughout this portion of the Coastal Plain
Province have included 774,052 acres of this type. The type has
been encountered in 21 areas located in 9 different States. The
Portsmouth sandy loam is found only in the lower lying portions of
the Coastal Plain section at elevations varying from slightly above
sea level to altitudes not much in excess of 100 feet. As indicated by
the soil surveys already made, the area of the type will ultimately be
found to cover many hundreds of thousands of acres within this
general region. Thus far the type has not been generally developed
as a farming soil owing to peculiarities of drainage which will be
made evident.

CHARACTERISTICS OY THE SOIL AND SUBSOIL.

The surface soil of the Portsmouth sandy loam to an average depth
of 10 or 12 inches is a black, dark-brown, or dark-gray medium sandy
loam. This is frequently underlain for a depth of 5 or 6 inches by a
gray, sticky sand which grades downward into a mottled yellow and
gray or drab sandy clay subsoil. It is not infrequently the case that
the surface soil over some portions of each area will be decidedly
mucky and practically lacking in the gritty white sand which is char-
acteristic of the greater portion of the type. There will frequently
be encountered, usually just below the surface soil, a rusty brown
layer of partially cemented subsoil. This " hardpan " is not par-
ticularly dense and is usually easily broken up by deep cultivation.

Where fields of the Portsmouth sandy loam have been cultivated
for some time, and especially where they have been burned over, the
color of the surface soil is liable to be dark gray to light gray, and
accumulations of the white quartz sand may frequently be seen.
There are rarely any pebbles or iron concretions to be found in the
surface soil, although the latter may be encountered sometimes near
the contact between the surface soil and the subsoil.

87401°— 11 3

4 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

The Portsmouth sandy loam is easily distinguished from the soils
of any other series because of the dark-brown to black color of the
surface soil and the gray or mottled yellow and gray character of the
subsoil. It is also distinguishable from the fact that it is practically
always in need of drainage and is thus sharply contrasted with the
surrounding upland soils. The soils of the Norfolk series are dis-
tinguished by their gray surface soils and yellow subsoils, and those
of the Orangeburg series by the gray surface soils and red subsoils.
The Portsmouth sandy loam occurs most frequently in association
with the soils of the Norfolk series and is readily distinguished from
them by its darker color, by its gray subsoil, and by its poor natural
drainage.

THE SURFACE FEATURES AND DRAINAGE.

Practically all areas of the Portsmouth sandy loam occur either
upon very flat uplands, in slight depressions, or in basinlike hollows,
or else they occur around the headwaters and upper reaches of the
sluggish streams of the lower lying portion of the Coastal Plain.
Wherever ridges occur in the general area of the type these are very
likely to be found to belong to some other soil type, usually of the
Norfolk series.

As a consequence of the level or depressed position of the Ports-
mouth sandy loam the natural drainage of the type is always poor,
and the greater part of its area is found to be semiswampy or wet.
In almost all localities the type supports a growth of hardwood, in-
cluding the sweet gum, the red maple in more northern localities,
and bay bushes, creeping vines, saw-palmetto, and the pitcher plant
in the more southern areas.

It is only where the margins of this type have been cleared from
their original forest growth, and where artificial drainage has been
partially established, that agriculture has occupied any portion of
its area. In the more northern locations, where the demand for land
is greatest and where the capabilities of this soil have been more
generally discovered, numerous extensive areas have been cleared
and drained, either by open ditches or by tile underdrainage. These
drained lands constitute the most extensive cultivated areas of any
portion of the Portsmouth sandy loam. In more southern latitudes,
where drainage has been less extensively inaugurated, very little of
the type, except in its marginal portions, has been brought under
cultivation to any crop.

For the utilization of this soil type, drainage is a fundamental pre-
requisite. In case the area of the type upon any particular farm con-
stitutes but a small acreage, and in case the natural facilities for
drainage are at all adequate, the opening of old water courses, deep-
ening and straightening the channels of the streams, and the cutting

THE PORTSMOUTH SANDY LOAM. 5

out of rank undergrowth will frequently serve to bring the soil into
a condition satisfactory for the production of some farm crops. In
general, however, an adequate system of open ditches constituting
the main outlets should be established, and the tilled fields should be
drained into these open ditches through the establishment of lines of
tile underdrains. Such reclamation of the land will entail a con-
siderable cost to the individual farmer who desires to reclaim areas
of the Portsmouth sandy loam found upon his farm. The cost of
constructing the open ditches and the tile drains under normal condi-
tions will vary from $15 to $30 an acre. The cost of clearing the land
of the hardwood timber and the vines and undergrowth will not
infrequently amount to an additional charge of $15 to $20. This high
initial cost of bringing the land under cultivation has thus far pre-
vented the utilization of the Portsmouth sandy loam in any regions
except where the demand for land has already become pressing. It
also accounts for the considerable areas of this and similar soil types
which remain undrained along the Atlantic coast from Maryland
southward. In due process of time, when the particular crops which
can be most successfully grown upon the Portsmouth sandy loam are
in greater demand, when the facilities for transporting these crops to
market become greater, and when the considerable agricultural value
of the soil itself is better understood, it is safe to predict that increas-
ing areas will be cleared, drained, and brought under cultivation.

LIMITATIONS OF YIELD.

In the discussion of crop yields upon the Portsmouth sandy loam,
it is essential to recall that these yields have usually been limited more
directly by the factors of adequate or inadequate drainage than by
any other characteristic of the type. In general, where the Ports-
mouth sandy loam has been well drained, well cultivated, and limed,
the yields of the general farm crops have been found to be satisfac-
tory. The type is considered a good soil for the production of corn
from Delaware to South Carolina. The normal yields of this crop
upon unlimed soils range from 20 to 30 bushels. Where burned
stone lime has been applied to the extent of 1,000 pounds to 3,000
pounds per acre, these yields have been doubled. It has also been
found in the practice of the best farmers that the application of com-
mercial fertilizers containing a high' percentage of potash has been
attended with excellent increases in the yields of the crops. In
some localities kainit has been used with considerable success as a
source of the potash salts. In the case of cotton many farmers claim
that the use of kainit tends to reduce the liability of the cotton to
rust and consequently increases the vigor of its growth, thus insur-
ing better yields than any other form of fertilizer which may be

6 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

applied. It is usually best to apply the kainit in connection with
complete commercial fertilizers, both for cotton and for corn.

Since the original state of the soil is that of a partially drained
swamp, it is found very essential to practice deep plowing and
thorough tillage of the land, in order that air may be admitted to as
great a depth as possible into the soil and subsoil. It is not advisable
in such areas as possess the brown layer of " hardpan " to turn
up any considerable quantity of this material at one time through
deep plowing. In fact, it is generally better to increase the depth of
plowing about 1 inch each year until a total depth of 8 or 9 inches is
attained. When this practice is accompanied by the liberal applica-
tion of lime, increased crop yields will almost invariably follow.
The principal limitations, then, upon the yields of the staple farm
crops are presented by inadequate drainage, the question of the appli-
cation of lime, and that of increased depth of plowing in preparation
for the crop.

LIMITATIONS UPON SPECIAL CROPS.

It is only upon the more northern areas of the Portsmouth sandy
loam that the special truck crops have been raised to any extent.
This arises largely from the fact that the soil is poorly drained, moi.-t
at all seasons of the year, and consequently matures the crops planted
upon it at a later season than the same crops are matured upon well-
drained sandy upland soils in the same region. Thus the early truck
crops of Irish potatoes would normally be raised upon the Norfolk
fine sand, or the Norfolk sandy loam, while upon the same farm the
proprietor would produce his later crop of potatoes for home use or
the general market upon the Portsmouth sandy loam. The same is
true of the majority of other crops which may be produced to advan-
tage upon the Portsmouth sandy loam. It is, therefore, only in the
more northern areas that the general trucking crops have been
produced to any extent upon this type of soil.

For the production of the special truck crops, drainage is again the
prime essential. It is also necessary to clear the land very completely
of the old stumps and stubs of the previous forestation, in order that
the implements of tillage may be freely used in the cultivation of the
truck crops. With certain of these crops, particularly cabbage and
kale, the liming of the land is -advisable. This is also true if such
crops as peas and beans are to be raised. The use of lime upon the
soil, however, should not precede the planting of Irish potatoes, but
should follow the removal of that crop. It is also found desiraMo
in the production of cabbage, kale, spinach, lettuce, onions, and
celery, as well as in the production of berries, to use nitrate of soda as
a source of the nitrogen to be applied to the crops. Owing to the
great solubility of this fertilizing salt the best truck growers fre-

THE PORTSMOUTH SANDY LOAM. 7

quently find it advisable to split the entire application into several
parts, which are applied to the crop at different times during the
growing season.

EXTENT OF OCCUPATION.

In Delaware and upon the Eastern Shore of Maryland consid-
erable areas of the Portsmouth sandy loam have been cleared,
drained, and placed under cultivation. To a more limited extent
the same is true of eastern Virginia and of eastern Xorth Carolina,
where the location of the type near to transportation facilities ena-
bles the farmers to produce the special crops rather than general
farm crops. Southward from Cape Hatteras, however, it is prob-
able that more than 90 per cent of the entire area of the type still
remains uncleared and undrained and awaiting a sufficient demand
for land to warrant its occupation. In these latter areas only upon
the margins of the type where the better-drained upland subsoils
descend toward the swamps or stream courses has cultivation been
pushed out across the boundary and the Portsmouth sandy loam
cultivated. Small areas of a few acres of extent occurring in depres-
sions through other types of scil are also cultivated and produce fail-
yields of cotton, corn, and oats.

There is certain to be a greater demand for this class of soil as
rapidly as its special adaptation to corn and oats among the gen-
eral crops and to the late trucking crops becomes more thoroughly
appreciated.

TILLAGE REQUIREMEN.

Probably after the land has been drained and brought under cul-
tivation the most essential requirement of the Portsmouth sandy
loam is deeper plowing and thorough stirring of the surface soil, in
order to promote thorough aeration. Unless the free draining off
of surplus water is assisted the land is liable to remain cold, wet, and
sour, and there is very little circulation of moisture. Stagnant
water within the soil type is harmful to crop growth, whereas the
same amount of water freely circulating through the surface soil
and percolating downward through the subsoil Avill greatly assist
in the production of satisfactory crops.

CROP ADAPTATION.

General farm crops. — The Portsmouth sandy loam is best suited
to the production of corn among the general farm crops. Where
considerable areas of the type have been cleared in the Middle
Atlantic States, yields of 20 to 30 bushels of corn per acre are habit-
ually secured. Small applications of burned lime, amounting to not
more than 500 to 800 pounds per acre, give a very satisfactory in-

8 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

crease in the yield, but in order to secure an adequate sweetening of
this soil burned stone lime should be applied at a rate of not less
than 1,000 pounds per acre, while double this amount may frequently
be used with satisfactory results. In the progress of soil surveys
certain localities have been encountered where the application of
even the more moderate amounts of lime has increased the yield of
corn to 50 bushels per acre, while portions of the type, upon which
sufficient lime and a moderate amount of complete commercial fer-
tilizer had been applied, have been known to yield as high as 80
bushels per acre. When these yields are compared with the yields
from unlimed areas of the same soil, or with any areas of other soils
in the same localities, it will be seen that the proper preparation
of the Portsmouth sandy loam will place it in high rank for the pro-
duction of corn. In fact, it is only surpassed as a corn soil in the
seaboard sections of the Middle Atlantic States by the Portsmouth
silt loam and some of the better drained areas of stream bottom land.

The Portsmouth sandy loam is also a good soil for the production
of summer oats in the more northern regions, and of winter oats in
the more southern localities, provided in the latter case the drain-
age is adequate to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water in the
surface soil or over the surface of the land. As in the case of corn,
the application of lime not infrequently doubles the yield of oats. It
would be an excellent practice in the use of this soil to prepare the
land for corn, to apply the lime before the corn is planted, and after
the corn is harvested to follow with a winter crop of oats in the more
southern localities or a summer crop in the more northern ones.
Double benefit would be received from the liming of the soil, since
both the corn and the oats would be assisted in their growth.

The Portsmouth sandy loam is occasionally used for cotton produc-
tion in the States from North Carolina south. The yields are only
fair, ranging from one-third bale to a little more than one-half bale
per acre. Unless the drainage of the soil is particularly good the
cotton is very liable to rust and the yield is materially reduced.
Some of the best fanners overcome this difficulty by the use of 300
to 400 pounds of kainit per acre when the land is planted to cotton.
The soil may scarcely be recommended as a cotton soil, but should
rather be utilized for the production of the forage crops, corn and
oats.

Wheat is produced upon a limited acreage of the Portsmouth sandy
loam in Maryland and Delaware. The yields are only fair, averag-
ing 12 to 15 bushels per acre, and on such fields as water accumulates
during the winter months the winter wheat is liable to be smothered
or killed out with the freezing and heaving of the ground. The
crop may scarcely be recommended for general production even in
northern areas upon the Portsmouth sandy loam.

THE PORTSMOUTH SANDY LOAM. 9

Limited areas of the Portsmouth sandy loam are planted to rice
upon some plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. The crop
is produced without irrigation and for local consumption. Under
present conditions of rice production it is not probable that any ex-
tensive area of the Portsmouth sandy loam would repay the requisite
clearing, drainage, and embankment for the production of rice under
irrigation in the South Atlantic States. The initial cost of the
preparation of the land would be so high that the interest charge
upon the investment would constitute a high proportion of the cost
of production of the rice. Locally, however, areas of the type may
be so used to some advantage.

Tr-uck crops. — The Portsmouth sandy loam in Maryland and Dela-
ware is not infrequently planted to tomatoes, either for sale as a
truck crop or for sale to the canning factories. The yields are mod-
erate, amounting to from 5 to 8 tons per acre. These yields are easily
exceeded by many of the better-drained upland soils.

Irish potatoes are produced to a limited extent and then only
to constitute a medium or late truck crop, or a crop for home use.
The yields are fair, ranging from 100 to 150 bushels per acre.
South of the Chesapeake Bay region very few potatoes are raised
upon this soil. Sweet potatoes are of secondary importance upon the
Portsmouth sandy loam in all locations.

To a limited extent the Portsmouth sandy loam from Delaware to
South Carolina has been used for the growing of three truck crops,
which are eminently suited for production upon the type. These
are cabbage, kale, and spinach. Where adequate drainage is installed
to reduce the water level to a depth of 18 inches or greater, and
where transportation facilities are afforded for the easy marketing
of the crop, all three of these crops constitute excellent medium to
late truck crops. The cabbage or the kale may be grown as a late
summer crop for shipment to northern markets, and may be followed
by spinach, which can be marketed during the fall and practically all
winter. In order to complete the series of truck crops, it is also
possible to produce radishes and spring onions upon the same acre-
age, and a complete succession of trucking crops may thus be obtained.
For the production of cabbage and kale the application of lime at
the rate of 2,000 pounds of burned stone lime per acre is advisable.
The commercial fertilizers which derive their nitrogen from nitrate
of soda are also advisable in the production of these crops. Some
of the best growers also apply additional small amounts of nitrate
of soda during the growing season. The area of the Portsmouth
sandy loam planted to these crops might well be extended as the mar-
ket demands increase. However, only such areas as have been
adequately drained and are well located with reference to means of
transportation should be occupied for any of the truck crops.

10 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES.

The more mucky phases of the Portsmouth sandy loam are also
well suited to the production of celery, onions, and lettuce, although
the acreage devoted to these crops is in the main limited. Again,
drainage is essential, but in the case of these crops liming is not
nearly so requisite as with the cabbage and kale.

Among the subordinate trucking crops for the Portsmouth sandy
loam may be mentioned garden peas, snap beans, and cantaloupes,
although the general production of these crops upon the type is not
to be recommended.

Berries. — In southern -Delaware, in some portions of the Eastern
Shore of Maryland, and in a few localities in eastern Virginia and
eastern North Carolina a considerable acreage of the Portsmouth
sandy loam has been occupied for the production of strawberries. In
the more northern localities the Portsmouth sandy loam is the chosen
soil for growing this fruit. The land is cleared, drained, and usually
thrown up into low beds or ridges with shallow but pronounced
trenches between them. Generally the matted-row system of planting
is followed, and the strawberries are set out in parallel rows upon
the shoulders of the ridges. Tillage operations are then con-
ducted between these double rows and the growth of the vines is
restricted as far as possible to the ridges. In general the late varie-
ties of strawberries are planted, the profit lying in the large yields
and excellent quality of the berries, rather than in early maturity.
The moist soil tends toAvard the growth of large berries, which are
juicy and usually well colored. The large proportion of organic
matter in the surface soil protects the berries from being covered
with sand when beating rains occur just before the picking season.
This difficulty has been encountered upon the more sandy and
earlier upland soils, and in many cases has led to the selection of
the Portsmouth sandy loam in preference to the other types. When
the beds upon the ridges have attained their maximum yield and
have begun to decline, new ridges are formed between the old rows
and the vines transplanted from the old beds, and in this way the
same acreage is frequently maintained in strawberries throughout a
considerable number of years. Adequate drainage, heavy fertiliza-
tion, and careful tillage are required to secure the maximum returns
from the strawberries. The crop, however, is one of the most im-
portant special crops which may be produced upon the Portsmouth
sandy loam.

Within recent years the Portsmouth sandy loam has been planted
to some extent to dewberries in the same general localities where
strawberry culture has been developed. The crop has proven suc-
cessful and additional acreages will undoubtedly be developed upon
the type.

THE PORTSMOUTH SANDY LOAM. 11

SUMMARY.

The Portsmouth sandy loam is an extensive soil type lying at low
elevations from near tide level to approximately 100 feet in the tide-
water portion of the Coastal Plain from Maryland to Mississippi.

It is marked by dark-gray, brown, or black mucky surface soils,
and by gray or mottled yellow and gray subsoils. Its surface is flat
or depressed and the natural drainage conditions are poor.

It constitutes an excellent soil for the production of corn and oats
when drainage has once been established and particularly when the
soil has been limed.

It is more valuable in the more northern locations for the produc-
tion of the medium and late truck crops, especially cabbage, kale,
spinach, celery, onions, lettuce, late strawberries, and dewberries,
than it is for general farming purposes.

It is only in the more northern areas and near market facilities
that any large proportion of the type has been cleared and culti-
vated.

The cost of clearing and draining any extensive areas of the
Portsmouth sandy loam is so great that until land prices where it
occurs have materially increased it will remain as an unappropriated
part of the soil resources of the region.

APPENDIX-

The following table shows the extent of the Portsmouth sandy 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 in
acres; and in the third column, the particular volume of the Field Opera-
tions 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 Portsmouth sandy loam encountered in the soil survey.

Survey.

Area of
soil.

Year of
publica-
tion, Field
Operations.

Alabama: Henry County ........

Acres.
704

1908

Delaware : Dover area

50, 304

1903

Florida: Gainesville area

40,384

1904

Georgia:
Grady County

1,088

1908

Thomas County

12, 928

1908

Maryland :
Easton area .. ..

27,840

1907

Worcester County

9,856

1903

Mississippi: Scranton area

6,272

1909

North Carolina:
Craven area . ..........*......

41,408

1903

Edgecombe County .. .... .

5,056

1907

Pitt County

22, 272

1909

Raleigh to Newbern areti * . .......

37,860

1900

Robeson County . ....'....

62, 080

1908

Scotland County . .

9,152

1909

South Carolina:
Conway area - -- ...........

5,248

1909

Darlington area 2. .

133, 696

1902

Lee County

62,464

1907

Orangeburg area . .......... . ..........

131, 904

1904

Sumter County ..

56,000

1907

Virginia:
Norfolk area . .. .... ......... . .

30, 016

1903

Yorktown area . .. ................

20, 032

1905

1 Mapped as Goldsboro compact sandy loam.

2 Mapped in part as Goldsboro compact sandy loam, and in part as Selma heavy silt
loam.

12

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