TlIK Tin.I.ETIN 



Cecil coarse saiidv loam, li aiijicars that the rocks giviiij;- ri.se to the 

 Durham coarse sandy loam have a smaller aniouiit of iron or the degree 

 of oxidation has been less, and as a result a yellow chiy i.s formed instead 

 of the red clay of the Cecil types. 



The Cecil -s;indy loam, (Veil fine sandy loam and stony loam are de- 

 rived from the granites and gneiss medium to fine in texture. The Cecil 

 loam comes i)rinci])ally from mica schist or talcose schist and felcite. 



The Cecil clay loam is derived principally from the fine textured 

 rocks and also from the medium or coarser textured rocks and through 

 heavy erosion of the sandy material derived from these rocks. As an 

 example of this erosion, if the greater ])art of the sandy material from 

 the sandy loams were removed, it would result in the formation of the 

 clay loam type. 



The Cecil clay or "heavy red land" comes from the weathering of the 

 dark colored rocks such as hornblende schist and diabase. Shiny par- 

 ticles of-the minerals contained in these rocks are seen in ditches and 

 gullies throughout these formations. 



The Iredell clay loam owes its origin to the weathering of dark green 

 or dull colored to almost black rocks sometimes called "niggerhead" 

 rocks. 



The mountains, knolls, and peaks in the county owe their existence 

 to the fact that they are composed of exceptionally hard rocks called 

 quartzite. Such rocks have withstood the forces of weathering while 

 the softer rocks have weathered do"ttni and the material has been tran,s- 

 ported, thus leaving a lower region. 



White quartz, gravel, and rock fragments are present on the surface 

 in many places ; but with the exception of the stony loam type, the pres- 

 ence of these do not interfere seriously with cultivation. 



The level areas or first bottom-lands along the rivers and creeks, 

 mapped as Congaree fine sandy loam and Meadow, were formed by the 

 streams. 



Soils similar to these in Gaston County were first mapi)ed in Cecil 

 County, Maryland, and the series name is due to that fact. 



The following table gives the name and extent of the soil types maitpcd 

 in (raston County : 



AREAS OF DIFFERENT SOILS. 



Soil 



Cecil sandy loam... 



Cecil clay loam 



Cecil fine sandy loam... 



Cecil loam 



Cecil coarse sandy loam 



Meadow 



Cecil clay 



Soil 



Acres Per Cent 



Durham coarse sandy loam 



Iredell clay loam 



Congaree fine sandy loam... 



Cecil stcny loam 



Rock outcrop 



Total 



4,430 

 4,288 

 4,160 

 3,904 

 704 



236,800 



1.9 

 1.8 

 1.8 

 1.7 

 .3 



