SOIL SURVEY OF BANNER COUNTY, NEBRASKA. 43 



The land is not used for cultivated crops on account of its small 

 extent. It is all included in pasture land. The native vegetation 

 consists of stipa, sand grass, and some grama. From 10 to 12 acres 

 are required to pasture a cow or steer throughout the year. 



No selling price can be given for the soil in this county on account 

 of its small acreage. In adjoining counties, where it is extensively 

 developed, it sells for $20 to $25 an acre, depending upon improve- 

 ments. 



The type is well adapted to the production of all crops common to 

 the region, and, where of sufficient acreage to be profitably cultivated, 

 ranks very favorably with the Eosebud very fine sandy loam. 



MITCHELL \'EKY FINE SANDY LOAM. 



The surface soil of the Mitchell very fine sandy loam is a light- 

 brown to grayish-brown very fine sandy loam, 6 to 10 inches deep. 

 There is usually present considerable silt, though there is very little 

 sand of the fine and medium grades. 



The typical material has no noticeable textural change between the 

 soil and subsoil, though the latter becomes slightly lighter in color 

 below 30 inches, grading into a light grayish brown very fine sandy 

 loam to silt loam. In places the lower subsoil is composed of alter- 

 nate layers of silt and very fine sand. The type is deficient in 

 organic matter. It has, however, a higher content of this material 

 than most of the soils of the Epping series. It is unusually retentive 

 of moisture, considering its organic content. The lower subsoil is 

 highly calcareous. 



The type differs from the Tripp soils, which it closely resembles, 

 in its more uniform soil profile and darker colored subsoil. 



The Mitchell very fine sandy loam is not extensively developed in 

 Banner County. It occurs chiefly along the northern edge. A small 

 body is mapped along one of the tributaries of Willow Creek, about 

 Z^ miles west of Harrisburg, while a larger body is mapped along 

 the main stream near Gabe Rock. The largest and most uniform 

 area occurs in the northwest part of the county, about 2| miles north 

 of Bull Canyon. The type represents alluvial and wind-blown mate- 

 rials derived from the Brule, Gering, and Arikaree formations. 



The topography is almost flat to gently undulating, but even the 

 flatter tracts have sufficient slope to afford excellent drainage. 



None of the type is under cultivation in Banner County, chiefly on 

 account of its distance from market. It is all used as pasture and 

 hay land. The native vegetation consists of grama, buffalo, and 

 needle grasses, together with blackroot, which afford good pasture 

 during average years. 



