150 



The Ohio Journal of Science [Vol. XVII, No. 5, 



and a company has thereby been called into being to dredge 

 the Scioto River in Columbus, through which great quantities 

 of both sand and gravel are supplied to the local market. 



Diversified Agriculture. — In the early part of the agricultural 

 history of this region, general farming was the rule, but it has 

 now been recognized that most of the land is better suited to 

 some one class of farming than to others*. Certain uplands 

 are given over almost entirely to timothy hay, or to pasture. 

 Many small stream floodplains are now used for pasture alone, 

 because they are too wet in most years for cultivation. Large 



Fig. 7. Alluvial tracts southwest of Columbus adapted for and devoted to 



truck farming. 



flood plains have been leveed and with the terraces or second 

 bottoms are repeatedly planted to corn. A rotation of oats, corn, 

 wheat and clover or alfalfa is used on many upland farms, for 

 without a rotation any one of the grain crops soon fails. Some 

 cold, heavy, upland fields are put into buckwheat, a crop especi- 

 ally adapted to such soils. Orchards and fruit have been put 

 upon many well drained slopes. This is particularly true 

 near Columbus, where fruit markets are largest. 



A lake bed of about forty acres, four and one-half miles 

 south of South Columbus, is devoted year after year to onions. 

 The soil is especially adapted, being black with organic matter, 

 rich, loose and warm. Many other similar tracts, though 

 rarely so large, could be thus used for onions or celery. Around 



*Map 20, Columbus sheet. Bur. of Soils, Rept. Field Operations, 1902. Map 

 30, Wcstcrville sheet, ibid., 1905. 



