THE MARION SILT LOAM. 5 



and hay. Even with the latter crop timothy and redtop are better 

 suited to the soil than the clovers, although the latter may be grown. 



Winter grain is best suited for production upon the Marion silt 

 loam. It may be seeded before the autumn rains set in, making its 

 chief growth upon the winter moisture supply, to be harvested before 

 the droughts of midsummer. This fact, together with the shallow 

 rooting of the small grains, permits of the seeding of a very large 

 percentage of the type to winter wheat which gives fair to good 

 yields. Corn is not generally grown with success upon the type, as 

 it is a deeper-rooting crop, dependent upon the spring and summer 

 rains to a far greater extent than winter wheat and is more liable to 

 suffer severely from the droughts of July and August than any other 

 crop commonly planted upon this soil. As a result the acreage 

 planted to corn upon the Marion silt loam is restricted and shows a 

 decline in certain localities. 



The organic matter content of the surface soil of the Marion silt 

 loam is almost universally deficient. The ashy-gray color of the soil 

 is a sufficient indication of this fact and analyses have shown the 

 organic matter content to range from less than one-half of 1 per cent 

 to a maximum slightly above 2 per cent. As a result the mechanical 

 condition of the surface soil is poor and there is a constant tendency 

 toward compacting under tillage. This condition is unfavorable to 

 corn cultivation though less so to the growing of winter wheat. 



In addition to the normal difficulties resulting from lack of proper 

 drainage, there is a tendency toward drowning out the winter grain 

 crop upon all of the more level areas where water may stand for 

 many days over the grain. This tendency has been met by the plow- 

 ing of the lands into long narrow ridges, with water furrows between, 

 for the surface drainage of the fields. In many localities the drain- 

 age has also been improved by the establishment of open ditches, 

 which serve fairly well to relieve this condition of unfavorable sur- 

 face drainage. 



Climatically, the type is located within a region well suited to the 

 production of a wide range of general farm crops. The chief re- 

 strictions upon the use of this soil are, therefore, consequent upon its 

 dense subsoil and upon the extremely level surface topography, both 

 of which interfere with the adequate surface and internal drainage 

 of the type. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN SOIL EFFICIENCY. 



The first and most general need for improving the range of crop 

 adaptations of the Marion silt loam as well as its productivity is 

 adequate drainage. This can not be accomplished on the basis of in- 

 dividual effort, especially so far as the construction of the larger 



