16 SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 



deposits generally have a depth of 40 to 150 feet, and consist of the 

 mechanically ground up and complex rock fragments brought in from 

 the north by glacial action and mingled with local material. 



Over the greater proportion of its area the Miami clay loam is 

 fairly well drained and in good physical condition. The more level 

 areas and those somew-hat remote from stream drainage, however, 

 are considerably improved by the Installation of tile drainage systems. 



Corn, wheat, oats, and grass are the principal crops produced, and 

 in the case of all four the yields reported are not only higher than 

 the average yields of these crops for the United States, but are higher 

 than the yields reported from the majority of other soil types in the 

 same areas where the Miami clay loam has been encountered. Thus 

 the Miami clay loam constitutes a prominent type for the production 

 of corn, one of the best of the eastern soil t} T pes for the production 

 of wdnter w^heat, an excellent soil for the production of grass for hay 

 or pasturage, and a good oat soil, although this crop is usually sub- 

 ordinate to the others mentioned. 



Rye, barley, beans, tobacco, sugar beets, tomatoes, and green 

 peas are also produced to advantage upon the Miami clay loam in 

 certain localities. 



A few varieties of apples may be grown upon those areas of the 

 Miami clay loam possessing adequate air and water drainage. Small 

 fruits may also be produced locally. 



In addition to the sale of wheat and corn, a considerable propor- 

 tion of the gram and hay raised upon the Miami clay loam is used 

 for the feeding of dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep and swine, and the 

 type forms the foundation for an extensive dairy industry, particu- 

 larly in Michigan and Ohio. 



The heavier teams and tools and adequate farm buildings are not 

 only required for the proper conduct of farming operations upon the 

 Miami clay loam, but are also possessed by the majority of farmers 

 engaged in its cultivation. 



The price of farm lands made up chiefly of the Miami clay loam 

 ranges from $50 or 60 per acre in the more remote locations to $125 

 or $150 per acre in more desirable situations. 



Fully 80 per cent of the entire extent of the Miami clay loam is 

 occupied by some form of tillage. The remaining area is either occu- 

 pied by permanent pasturage, by woodlot, or by some other form of 

 secondary occupation, due principally to local irregularities in slope 

 or deficiency in drainage. It would therefore be impossible to extend 

 to any great degree the area of agricultural occupation upon it. 

 The principal improvements of the type must consequently result 

 chiefly from improved methods of tillage operations upon this soil. 



Approved. 



JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



WASHINGTON, D. C., May 10, 1911. 



