THE DEKALB SILT LOAM. 15 



and never where there is poor subsoil drainage or a stiff, compact 

 subsoil layer near to the surface of the land. In the more northern 

 localities in Pennsylvania the Northern Spy also does well. It is 

 only upon the portions of the type which grade toward the fine sandy 

 loam that the Rome Beauty is best grown and then at the lower ele- 

 vations. Ben Davis and Gano may be grown in West Virginia and 

 in more southern localities. 



A wide variety of small fruits may be grown upon the Dekalb 

 silt loam both for home use and for market supply where such 

 demands exist. The later varieties of strawberries yield well both 

 in respect to quantity and to quality. Raspberries may be grown 

 and blackberries are particularly successful upon areas of some eleva- 

 tion in the more northern regions. Local market demands should 

 rule the classes of small fruits to be planted. 



Market-garden crops. Potatoes should constitute the chief market- 

 garden crop upon the Dekalb silt loam wherever the local market 

 conditions justify their production. The precautions necessary to 

 secure a favorable yield have been discussed under general farm crops. 



Cabbages may also be grown to advantage both for local sale and 

 for shipment. Usually it will be better to apply lime to the soil 

 before a cabbage crop is attempted, and the land should be in a good 

 condition of general fertility and should be well prepared with deep 

 plowing and good tillage. 



Beets, turnips, and other root crops may be grown to advantage 

 where a local market for them exists. 



SUMMARY. 



The Dekalb silt loam is an extensive soil type occurring principally 

 upon the higher elevations of the Appalachian Plateau and upon 

 the flat crests of the broader mountain ridges of the Appalachian 

 Mountain system. In altitude it ranges from about 700 feet above 

 sea level, where it occurs upon the lower slopes of the plateau region 

 in Ohio and Indiana, to altitudes in excess of 2,000 feet upon the 

 higher ridges and fragments of the plateau in north-central Penn- 

 sylvania. 



The surface of the type ranges from almost level and gently rolling 

 to hilly and rough. Its natural drainage conditions are usually 

 adequate, though there are areas in low-lying positions and remote 

 from streams which are too wet for profitable agricultural occupation. 



The surface soil is a soft, silty loam of a prevailing gray or pale 

 yellow color. The subsoil is a heavier and more compact silt loam 

 or silty clay loam, which is usually mottled yellow and gray or ash- 

 colored, though in particularly well drained areas of considerable 

 depth of soil and subsoil the deeper subsoil may show a reddish tinge. 



The Dekalb silt loam is primarily a general fanning soil whose 

 crop adaptations vary with the climatic surroundings which may 



