252 SOIL SCIENCE [Bot. Absts., Vol. IV, 



the heavy soils of the Mahoning and Ellsworth series oats and hay are grown. Corn does not 

 do as well here as upon the Wooster, Canfield and drained Volusia. Corn and potatoes are 

 the important crops on these soils. Oats grow well on almost all the soils of the area. Hay 

 is produced on 50 per cent of the farmed land of the county. General farming, dairying, 

 trucking and orcharding are the principal types of agriculture. — H. 0. Buckman. 



1675. Cobb, W. B., and S. F. Davidson. Soil survey of Caldwell County, North Carolina. 

 Advanced sheets — field operations Bur. Soils, U. S. Dept. Agric. 1917: 5 29. Fig. 1, and map 

 (colored). 1919. — Caldwell County is situated in the northwestern part of the state. The 

 northern two-thirds lie in the mountainous Appalachian region while the rest consists of the 

 undulating Piedmont plateau. The area is drained by the Catabau and Yadkin Rivers and 

 their tributaries. — The climate is very favorable for agriculture. The growing season is about 

 6 months in length, with adequate rainfall. The total precipitation is 50 inches. The winters 

 are mild. — Most of the highways are but fair even in summer. Two railroads serve the county. 

 Lenoir is the county seat with a population of 3364. Eighty-four per cent of the county's 

 population is rural. — The soils of the area occur in three provinces, Appalachian Mountain, 

 Piedmont Plateau and River Flood Plain. The Appalachian soils (largely of the Porters and 

 Ashe series) making up 60 per cent of the county although often productive arenoc extensively 

 farmed due to their rough topography. The Cecil and Louisa series dominating in the Pied- 

 mont section are good general farming soils capable of being built up into a high state of fer- 

 tility. The alluvial soils, which comprise 5 per cent of the area, are almost wholly utilized 

 and are in a very high state of productiveness. — General farming predominates with corn as 

 the principal crop. It is grown indiscriminately although it does best on bottom land. Wheat, 

 oats and potatoes are also grown according to the character of the soil. — H. O. Buckman. 



1676. Kocher, A. E., and A. T. Strahorn. Soil survey of Benton County, Washington 

 Advance sheets — field operations Bur. Soils, U. S. Dept. Agric. 1917: 5-72. Fig. 1 and 2. 

 Plates I, II and III and map (colored). 1919. — Benton County lies just east of the Cascades 

 on the southern edge of the state. It occupies a peninsula-like position in one of the larger 

 bends of the Columbia, which bounds it on the north, east and south. Drainage is either 

 directly into the Columbia or indirectly thereto by the Yakima River which flows eastward 

 through the center of the area. — The topography of the county ranges from mountains, plain- 

 like plateau and scab lands to high river terraces and recent alluvium, although the latter is 

 much restricted by the gorge character of the master streams. — The climate is arid with a mean 

 precipitation at Kennewick on the Columbia of 6.3 inches. The snowfall varies from a few 

 inches in the valleys to over 2 feet in the mountains, which rise to 3500 feet in places. The 

 mean annual temperature at Kennewick is 54 °F., the mean for July being 77°F. and for Jan- 

 uary 31 °F. The growing season is about 170 days in the valleys. — The agriculture is of two 

 types, dry farming and irrigation. The former, which is least important, is carried on upon 

 the upland loess (Ritzville series) and valley fill soils (Sagemoor and Burke series). These 

 soils occupy over one-half of the county. Wheat is the principal crop. — Irrigation is confined 

 exclusively to the valleys due to the difficulty of supplying water to the uplands. Here old 

 high water terraces (Ephrata series largely) are of the greatest importance although in places 

 alluvial soils (especially the Prosser series) are valuable. The northeastern corner of the 

 county as well as certain southern portions is occupied by sandy wind blown materials of little 

 agricultural value. These deposits cover 21 per cent of the area. — Ninety-five per cent of 

 the people live in the valleys and fruit growing to which the climate and the sandy terrace 

 and alluvial soils are adapted is the principal occupation. Apples, peaches, cherries, pears 

 and grapes are of particular importance especially about Kennewick, Prosser and Richland. 

 Vegetables are a valuable crop together with alfalfa which supports important dairy interests. 

 Hog raising and winter sheep grazing and feeding are also engaged in to a certain extent. — 

 //. 0. Buckman. 



1677. Latimer, W. J. Soil survey of Barbour and Upshur Counties, West Virginia. Ad- 

 vance sheets — field operations Bur. Soils, U. S. Dept. Agric. 1917: 5-51. Fig. 1 and map (col- 

 ored). 1919. — The counties in question lie on the markedly eroded portion of the Appalachian 



