8 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



of farmers who possess arable areas of the type to plant this crop 

 as frequently as possible. 



The difficulties from overflow, from poorly established natural 

 drainage, and from its depressed topographic position prevent the 

 successful growing of any orchard fruits. 



IMPROVEMENT IN SOIL EFFICIENCY. 



j Owing to its mode of formation, the Wabash silt loam possesses a 

 considerable depth of mellow silty surface soil heavily charged with 

 decaying or partially decayed organic matter. It is usually stone 

 free and of such level surface as to be easily tilled. In all areas not 

 protected by dikes, the fields are frequently subject to the renewal of 

 surface soil materials through the deposition of the mineral sedi- 

 ments carried by the rivers, which are mingled with the remains of 

 rank swamp vegetation previously growing upon the land. Thus, 

 so far as the inherent properties of the soil material itself are con- 

 cerned, no difficulty is ever encountered with either the natural 

 fertility or the physical properties of the soil. 



In consequence the most important methods for improving the effi- 

 ciency of this soil type consist in the construction of the necessary 

 embankments for its protection from overflow, and of the necessary 

 drains to remove surplus surface water and lower the permanent 

 water table to a depth of 2 or "3 feet below the surface of the land. 

 These improvements have already been described. It may be said in 

 this connection that probably 60 per cent of the entire area of the 

 type still awaits such improvements in order to render it available 

 for any intensive agricultural occupation. About this proportion of 

 the type still remains in heavily forested bottoms or in semiswampy 

 pasture lands associated with the forests. 



LIMITATIONS UPON SPECIAL CROPS. 



The production of special crops upon the Wabash silt loam is not 

 only limited, but practically prohibited, under all natural conditions 

 by the factors of overflow and drainage already described. Within 

 the protected areas, however, there has been little attempt made to 

 produce other crops than corn, wheat, oats, and grass. By far the 

 greater acreage of the tilled area of the Wabash silt loam is annually 

 devoted to the production of Indian corn. The large yields secured, 

 the ease of cultivation, and the high value of this crop practically 

 exclude all others. 



The Wabash silt loam where properly drained and protected is 

 well suited to the production of Irish potatoes, cabbages, onions, 

 celery, and a wide variety of the later market-garden crops suited 

 to the climatic circumstances of the different areas where the type 



