the red
shale, and the marl districts of the State, but they are not so
sandy and so coarse-grained as to be non-productive, like some of
the pineland areas. The latter are often deficient in plant food and
are deservedly characterized as pine barrens, being too poor for
farm purposes. The growth of oak and pine, as well as chemical
analyses, shows that the oak-land soils contain the elements of
plant production. They are not so well suited to pasturage or to
continuous cropping as naturally rich virgin soils; they are better
fitted for raising vegetables, melons, sweet potatoes, small fruits,
peaches, and pears than wheat, Indian corn, hay, and other staples.
The eminent superiority of this kind of farming in New Jersey over
the old routine of wheat, corn, hay, and potatoes is well known.
These South Jersey soils are easily cleared of brushwood or standing
timber, and of stumps, with a hand or horse-power puller which is a
cheap affair, and the wood is salable in all this part of the State
at remunerative prices, often bringing more than the original cost
of the land. The long working season and the short and mild winter
favor the arrangement of work, so that all is done with the least
outlay for help. They also favor the mosquitoes.

"The success of Hammonton, Egg Harbor City, Vineland, and other
places is notable, and equally good results are to be had at a
hundred or more places as well situated as they are. These lands are
sold at low figures, and the settler saves in capital and interest
account. Only the difficulty of getting money to help in building
interferes with rapid settlement.

"The West Jersey Railway, the Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia and
Reading's Atlantic City Railroad, the Philadelphia and Seashore
Railway, the New Jersey Southern Railroad, and other branch roads
afford excellent facilities for access to New York, Philadelphia,
and the cities of the State. The Cohansey, Maurice, and Mullica
rivers head well up near the northwest limits of these lands, and
their navigable reaches run for miles across them. The waters of the
Delaware Bay and the ocean are within a few miles of a large part of
this oak-land domain.

"The advantages of an old settled and Eastern State, within easy
reach of these large markets, of land which is easily tilled and
generous and quick in its response to feeding, and at low prices,
make them equal to, if not better than, the rich prairie soils of a
new West, or the