134 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



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in some places it accuinulated to a depth of several 

 hundred feet, while in other places it was not so 

 extensively deposited, just as in some places a river 

 scours its channel clear, while elsewhere it is build- 

 ing a bar. Finally the ice disappeared from these 

 hillsides and all of the material that was in or under 

 it was left to form the present hillside soils. 



The hillside soils are somewhat difficult to work, 

 partly because of the roughness of the surface, 

 partly because of the irregularities of the texture 

 and composition, which, even in the same field, may 

 very differently affect capillarity and drainage. 

 Moreover, it is often a dense hardpan which is 

 difficult to till. Still it is a strong, sturdy soil, 

 which, when properly cultivated, furnishes good 

 crops. However, it is not so well adapted to grapes 

 as the more sandy soils of the valley. 



TJie gravel ridges. — Throughout the entire grape 

 belt (Fig. 54), there are three distinct gravel 

 areas, extending approximately parallel to the Erie 

 shore. On one of the two northernmost of these 

 the main road to Buffalo is generally located, while 

 the "third is south of this, at distances generally 

 varying from one or two hundred yards to more 

 than a half mile. Between these distinct ridges 

 there are sometimes one or two less distinct gravel 

 beds ; but most of the space between them is 

 occupied by a clayey soil. In some places, particu- 

 larly near the larger streams, the entire belt is 

 gravelly. 



The surface of the gravel ridges is typical. Each 

 g one is remarkably level-topped (Fig. 55), and the 

 roads that follow them often extend for miles almost 

 on a dead level. There are distinct terraces, and when viewed from the 

 north they present a bold face which rises quite abruptly to a height 

 of from fifteen to thirty feet (Fig. 56), beyond which a nearly level 

 plain is usually encountered (Figs. 54 and 55). Near the streams 

 the terrace is broader" than elsewhere; and in some cases it is a true 



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