448 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



SANDY SOILS OF WESTERN AND NORTHERN MICHIGAN. 



Circular No. 16. 



At the present time considerable areas of sandy soil are being- 

 offered for sale in Michigan. Many calls for information concerning 

 the value and management of such soils are coming to the college. 

 This circular is prepared to provide in a concise way the information 

 asked for. 



These soils range from the coarser Dune sands to the finer Miami fine 

 sands. The greater part of the soils offered for sale are i)roperly em- 

 braced under what is known as Miami sands. 



The Dune sands possess little or no agricultural value. 



The Miami fine sandy soils are sufficiently valuable for agricultural 

 purposes to require little attention in this place. 



The Miami sands vary from soils that possess much intrinsic agri- 

 cultural value to soils that can never be made profitably productive 

 under ordinary methods of management. 



INTRINSIC VALUE. 



The value of Miami sand will depend chiefly upon four things: 



1. Its origin. Whether made up largely of material produced from 

 the breaking down of granitic rocks and other rocks rich in plant food 

 constituents, or whether made up of material chiefly siliceous — pure 

 quartz. 



2. Upon the fineness of the material. The finer the material the 

 greater is its waterholding capacity and the greater, also, the amounts 

 of plant foods which it will give up for the use of the plant. 



3. The subsoil. The finer the subsoil the more valuable are these 

 lands for cropping purposes. It is not an uncommon thing to find areas 

 of these Miami sands so coarse in appearance as to cause the observer 

 to wonder at the excellent crops which they i)roduce. The secret is 

 found usually in an underlying subsoil of clay located 18 to 60 inches 

 below the surface, and having a depth of a few to several feet. This 

 subsoil of clay is of value in that: 



(a) It acts as a reservoir to hold the water in the soil abov£, 

 and in itself, which otherwise would disappear downward by 

 gravity, and 



(b) In that when close enough to the surface the roots of the 

 growing crop above find their way into the clay itself, and thus 

 procure a larger supply of plant food. 



4. The distance of the water table from the surface, regardless of 

 the kind of underlying subsoil. That is, the distance which we should 

 have to dig or drive to secure a well. 



INDICATIONS OF CROPPING VALUES. 



The j)ossible cropping value of these lands is indicated by the original 

 vegetation which they are supporting or have supported. 



