THE MARSHALL SILT LOAM. 17 



Both beef cattle and dairy cattle and hogs are extensively main- 

 tained upon the farms chiefly occupied by this type, and the great 

 daiiy industry of northern Illinois and of Iowa and some portions of 

 Wisconsin is largely based upon the Marshall silt loam and the crops 

 produced upon it. 



The economical operation of the farms composed of this type is 

 made possible by the use of heavy horses and a full equipment of 

 modern power machinery, eliminating as far as possible the element 

 of human labor. The equipment of buildings and of other acces- 

 sories is also adequate throughout the greater portion of the area 

 occupied by the type. 



Probably 90 per cent of the total area of the Marshall silt loam is 

 occupied by farms, and of the territory thus occupied by far the 

 greater part, undoubtedly exceeding 90 per cent of the farm lands, 

 may be classed as improved land occupied by some form of cultivated 

 crop. 



The acreage value of farms principally occupied by the Marshall 

 silt loam ranges from $35 to $50 in its most western extension to $75 

 or $125 per acre in its more central portion. In the regions of central 

 Indiana and Illinois, where the type has been occupied for upwards 

 of 75 years, values rise to $150 and $200 per acre. 



The Marshall silt loam, both in area and in economic efficiency, is 

 one of the most valuable soils to be found in the United States. 



Approved : 



JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



WASHINGTON, D. C., May 20, 1911. 



