SOIL SURVEY OF PAYNE PEAIRIE, FLORIDA. 5 



lilies are growing. The greater part of this type was found to have 

 a soil consisting of 3 to 5 inches of black mucky sandy clay, though 

 in places there was found a slight covering of white or brownish 

 sand. The subsoil consists usually of dark-drab sandy clay, changing 

 to a lighter drab with depth, and showing often some yellow streaks 

 or mottles. Some borings were light colored in the lower depths, 

 and would probably prove of somewhat calcareous character. The 

 subsoil is very stiff, and, though sandy, is tough and plastic. Resi- 

 dents around the Prairie say that there are areas of outcrop of 

 flinty rocks, probably the flinty part of the Vicksburg limestone, 

 and that in the "bonnet ponds and lily ponds" the soil is mucky 

 nnd boggy, the muck being several feet deep. They also report that 

 there are sandy bars in this lake portion and considerable variation 

 as a whole. As the depth of water was too great to permit driving 

 through the central portion of the Prairie, this section could not be 

 examined to verify the statements of the residents. This is considered 

 a very strong soil and desirable if drained. 



Leon sand (pond phase}. This type is found at the eastern end 

 of the Prairie beyond what is shown as the water line, but has been 

 submerged when the prairie was filled with water in times past. 



The type consists of dark-gray to gray medium sand averaging 

 about 15 inches in depth, under which is found a chocolate-brown 

 medium sand extending to a depth of more than 36 inches, the dark- 

 brown color gradually changing to brownish gray and finally to 

 white. This brown substratum is known as " hardpan." Dogfennel 

 is the predominant growth on this soil. 



There is a small area reaching from Chacala Pond to the north 

 within the prairie basin and extending east over the 60-foot contour 

 that consists of a brownish-gray to drab medium sand underlain by 

 drab sand to a depth of over 36 inches, but resting at no great 

 depth upon drab clay mottled with streaks of yellow. It supports a 

 hammock growth and cabbage palmettos. It also extends over the 

 high hammock lands bordering the prairie. This is the Fellowship 

 land as mapped in the Ocala area. 



Payne Prairie is considered the best summer grazing section in 

 this part of Florida. It supports a luxuriant grazing growth and 

 cattle thrive upon it. However, all this growth dies down in the 

 late fall and cattle can hardly subsist upon it during the winter. In 

 its present condition, it is best suited to grazing, while if drained 

 thoroughly and then irrigated, if found necessary, it would be suited 

 to general farm crops and a great variety of trucking crops as well. 



Approved : 



JAMES WILSON, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



WASHINGTON, D. C., June 26, 1912. 



