SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE. XXXIX. 



MEADOW. 



DEFINITION. 



The word Meadow, as applied to soil conditions and as used in the 

 soil classification of the Bureau of Soils, designates those low-lying, 

 frequently somewhat swampy areas found along stream courses and 

 tidewater embayments, which are subject to overflow and which are 

 chiefly devoted to pasturage and the production of hay, when used 

 for agricultural purposes, though usually occupied by trees and dense 

 undergrowth when in their natural condition. 



Meadow areas, according to this classification, are necessarily 

 variable in texture, since they are among the youngest of soils. They 

 are partially completed soil areas which are subject to frequent 

 accessions of material which may be similar to that already deposited 

 or may differ widely in texture from earlier deposits, depending upon 

 the character of the successive overflows. 



The term Meadow as here used possesses the oldest significance of 

 the word. This arises from the fact that before the introduction of 

 the majority of grasses and clovers now used for seeding, the moist, 

 low-lying lands supported a growth of the wild grasses that formed 

 the chief dependence of the early farmers both for grazing and for 

 hay. With the introduction of new grasses and with the spread of 

 grass culture to the uplands, the term was transposed, together with 

 grass growing, and the broader significance of the term was made to 

 include the agricultural use of all land of any character where grass 

 was grown for hay. The older use of the term, which is the defini- 

 tion adopted* by the Bureau of Soils, is much more definite and sig- 

 nificant for the purposes of soil classification. 



Areas of Meadow of various sizes occur along the courses of nearly 

 all of the larger streams of the eastern portion of the United States. 

 Wherever the bottom lands are subject to periodic overflow such soils 

 may be formed. As a result of this condition along all stream courses 

 where soil building is in progress, areas of Meadow have been encoun- 

 tered in 173 different areas, located in 31 different States and aggre- 

 gating a total of 3,086,829 acres. This vast area constitutes but a 

 small part of the total, and it may be safely estimated that not less 

 than 20,000,000 acres of such soil deposits exist in the eastern part 

 of the country. 



