SOIL SURVEY OF BANNER COUNTY, NEBRASKA. 55 



which has probal)ly been accumuhited as colhivial or alhivial wash 

 from the uplands and in this respect resembles the Bridgeport very 

 fine sandy loam. It has, however, a more calcareous and distinctly 

 lighter colored subsoil than any of the Bridgeport types and was 

 for this reason included with the Tripp very fine sandy loam. 



The topography of the Tripp very fine sandy loam is flat to very 

 gently undulating. Drainage is good. The greater part of the type 

 has sufficient slope to carry off the surplus water and the loose, 

 porous soil and subsoil affords excellent underdrainage. 



The type is of small extent, and only about 10 per cent of it is under 

 cultivation. The rest is used for pasture and hay land. 



The native vegetation consists of grama grass, buffalo grass, wire 

 grass, western wheat grass, and blackroot. 



Wheat, rye, oats, and corn are the principal cultivated crops, and 

 stock raising is the chief source of income. Beef cattle, chiefly grade 

 Herefords and Shorthorns, are the leading breeds. Most of the 

 ranches also raise horses. Wheat yields from 15 toj 20 bushels, rye 

 20 to 25 bushels, oats 20 to 40 bushels, and com 15 to 25 bushels per 

 acre. 



Land of the Tripp very fine sandy loam sells for $20 to $30 an acre. 



The tj^pe is one of the best agricultural soils in the High Plains 

 region, and where it occurs in large areas as in Box Butte, Dawes, 

 and Sheridan Counties, is extensively used in the production of al- 

 falfa and grain crops. It is especially adapted to alfalfa, and good 

 yields are obtained in all but the driest years. 



SCOTT SILT LOAM. 



The soil of the Scott silt loam is a brown to grayish-brown heavy 

 silt loam, 6 to 8 inches deep. It is unusually high in silt and con- 

 tains very little coarse material. In places the soil content of clay 

 is high, the texture approaching a silty clay loam. 



The material in the surface 4 inches is rich in organic matter and 

 has a much darker color than that part of the soil below this depth. 

 The subsoil is a dark-gray to almost black, compact clay, having an 

 average thickness of about 4 feet. This material is almost impene- 

 trable, with a soil auger on account of its stiff compact structure. In 

 places the subsoil changes abruptly at about 30 inches into a light- 

 gray, loose friable very fine sandy loam. The change in color and 

 texture between the soil and subsoil is unusually gradual. The type 

 is calcareous throughout the 3-foot section. 



Less than one-half square mile of the Scott silt loam occurs in Ban- 

 ner County. It forms a few isolated areas on the upland in the 

 south-central part. The areas are small, seldom exceeding 10 acres 

 in size. 



