132 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



The hillside soils. — Above the upper gravel (see map, Fig. 52), 

 ■which nsuallv lies but a short distance south of the main road, the 

 ground generall}' commences to rise more rapidly and the escarp- 

 ment is soon reached. On this hillside there is considerable grape 

 raising, but the soil is altogether different from that in the region 

 to the lakeward, which is the main grape belt. The base of this 

 soil is a clay of very fine texture ; bnt there are some local varia- 

 tions from this. In some cases the soil is a loam and in places it is 

 even sandy, while on the other extreme it is often a dense hardpan ; 

 but nearly everywhere the bulk of the soil is clay, whether it is 



53.— Section in the boulder clay on May ville and Westlield road. 



hard and compacted into hardpan or is a loose and relatively friable 

 loam. "When fresh, the color is blue ; but since the soil is generally 

 somewhat disintegrated, the color ordinarily seen is a yellow, which 

 is due to iron rust leached from the soil fragments. 



l^ext in importance to the clay is the presence of pebbles. 

 These are very numerous, and at times they are of considerable 

 size. It is important to note the form of these. They are angular, 

 and if rounded at all, this is usually on only one or two of the 

 sides, 80 that angular corners are almost invariably to be found. 

 Moreover, the sides of these often bear numerous grooves and 

 scratches. While many of the pebbles are fragments of shale rock. 



