THE DEKALB SILT LOAM. 13 



inevitably to the conclusion that inefficient methods of soil manage- 

 ment failure to restore organic matter to the surface soil, insuffi- 

 cient depth of plowing, and infrequent and improper tillage are 

 chiefly responsible for the lower yields. 



Winter wheat is grown as a small grain crop upon the areas of the 

 Dekalb silt loam from southern Pennsylvania to northern Alabama 

 and westward to southern Indiana. Again the yields are extremely 

 variable. In Alabama 5 to 8 bushels is the common production. 

 In Kentucky the yields range from 8 to 15 bushels. About the same 

 quantity is raised in Indiana and Ohio, though yields of 20 to 25 

 bushels are also reported. The soil is well suited to the production 

 of a good quality of winter wheat at the higher altitudes in the more 

 southern areas of its development and at all altitudes in the middle 

 region. In the more northern localities wheat should give place 

 to oats. 



Oats are grown as a summer crop in all of the more northern 

 areas where the Dekalb silt loam has been mapped. They are spar- 

 ingly grown as a winter crop in Alabama. In all cases the yields are 

 low compared with those of other types of soil occurring in the 

 region. Yields of 20 to 25 bushels are most common, though some 

 farmers are reported to produce 30 to 40 bushels per acre. Even in 

 the most favorable localities it is not probable that the average yields 

 of oats upon the Dekalb silt loam exceed 25 bushels per acre. In the 

 southern localities the oats are not thrashed, but are grazed off or 

 fed in the bundle. 



The usual seeding to grass upon the Dekalb silt loam is chiefly to 

 timothy for hay, although clover is successfully grown, alone or in 

 mixed seeding, in some areas. There has been some difficulty experi- 

 enced in securing a stand of clover in many localities, and this may 

 only be overcome by the application of lime to the land at the time 

 of the clover seeding. Elsewhere the stand secured is usually irregu- 

 lar and only lasts for a single year. The yields of timothy hay from 

 the Dekalb silt loam are unusually good. They range from 1 ton per 

 acre to If tons under favorable climatic conditions and upon the 

 better tilled fields. Large areas of the type are also maintained in 

 pasturage, and these pastures are principally overgrown to native 

 grasses with a small amount of timothy and redtop. In the case of 

 both meadows and pastures the seeding is usually allowed to stand 

 altogether too long, decreasing both the quantity and quality of the 

 grasses produced. For pasturage purposes a mixture of timothy, 

 redtop, Canada bluegrass, alsike, and white clover produces a good 

 turf and an enduring pasture. It is frequently not necessary to 

 plow old pastures to secure a stand of grasses. These may be sown 

 upon the surface of the land after it has been harrowed and scarified 



