52 



FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1910. 



Except ill those limited areas previously mentioned a-s l.ying below 

 the upland, the type is treeless. A sparse native grass does little to 

 relieve the general barren and desolate appearance of the areas. On 

 the low-lying bodies valley oaks are found. Here the general condi- 

 tions of development are more like those of the poorly drained 

 portions of tlie Vina clay loam. 



At i)rcsent the type is not cultivated except for grain growing upon 

 certain small areas favored with greater depth of soil than usually 

 found. With the Tuscan stony loam of the same region it is used 

 for grazing and can be correctly classed as a grazing soil. It is a 

 poor soil for ordinaiy crops, owing to its shallow depth, stony sur- 

 face, and unfavorable structure. If anything is ever made of this 

 type it will come as a result of considerable effort in overcoming 

 these natural phj^sical defects. Irrigation Avill of course be necessar3\ 

 Little hope of immediate development can be entertained for the 

 bulk of the tj^pe. Even with irrigation no deep-rooted crops Avill 

 make a vigorous growth, and the same holds with regard to the truck 

 crops, owing to their need of constant cultivation. Perhaps pear and 

 grape culture may prove possible. In any event the soil must be 

 conditioned by careful cultivation and the use of green manures to 

 secure a granulated structure, which it does not now possess. 



The following table gives the average results of mechanical analy- 

 ses of the soil of this type: 



Mcchttnicnl (innli/soi of ^'iml clay ailobr. 



SACRAMKNTO FINK SAND. 



The surface soil of the Sacramento fine sand consists of a fine- 

 textured, brownish-gray, micaceous sand of loose structure. It may 

 extend to a depth of 6 feet, but is usually underlain at varying 

 depths below 12 inches by material similar to that forming the silt 

 loam or fine sandy loam of the same series. It is subject to consid- 

 erable variation, and owing to its manner of formation is marked by 

 many sniall patches of related soils. 



It occurs in several bodies of small extent, or islands, along the 

 Sacramento Kiver. The type is subject to annual overflow, either 

 entirely or in the numerous cuts and waterways, which give it a 

 much dis.serted and eroded surface by their constantly shifting 

 courses. 



