SOILS OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES AND THEIR USE-XXX. 



THE CHESTER LOAM. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



The Chester loam is the most important and widely distributed 

 soil type of the northern Piedmont region. It is found principally 

 in southeastern Pennsylvania, central Maryland, and north-central 

 Virginia. Within this region a total area of 600,680 acres of the 

 type has been encountered in eight different soil surveys. Its total 

 extent is confined to an area lying between the James River on the 

 south and the Delaware River on the extreme northeast. It is found 

 only in the rolling Piedmont section w T ithin these limits. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL AND SUBSOIL. 



The surface soil of the Chester loam, to an average depth of about 

 10 inches, is prevalently a mellow, sometimes gritty, brown loam. 

 The subsoil to a depth usually in excess of 36 inches is a brown, yel- 

 lowish-brown, or reddish-yellow silty loam. At the greater depths 

 this silty loam is frequently marked by the presence of partly decom- 

 posed rock fragments, giving it a somewhat sandy or gritty texture. 

 From 3 feet to a depth of 15 or 20 feet this material grades into the 

 partially decomposed rock from which both surface soil and subsoil 

 have been derived. The depth of surface soil and subsoil over the 

 partly decomposed rock varies considerably with the character of the 

 surface of the areas where it is found. Upon all of the steeper slopes 

 the surface layer of soil and subsoil is usually approximately 3 feet 

 in depth. Upon the more level plateaulike stretches of the country 

 occupied by the Chester loam the combined depth of surface soil and 

 subsoil frequently reaches 20 or 25 feet before the underlying rock 

 is encountered. In many areas, particularly upon the steeper slopes, 

 fragments of the parent rock or of white flint may be found scattered 

 through both surface soil and subsoil. In other localities, where ero- 

 sion has been prevalent, there are frequently found large masses or 

 even ledges of rock which outcrop through the soil and subsoil. 

 These stony areas are usually of limited extent and are confined to the 

 steeper slopes along the stream margins or to low ridges which inter- 

 sect the general level of the type. 



