332 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



Volusia Loam and Silt Loam. These are the most important 

 types of the series. The surface of the loam is less rolling than that 

 of the silt loam. The former is well adapted to the production of po- 

 tatoes, grass, oats, buckwheat, and corn in less elevated portions. 

 Apples are also grown, to advantage throughout a considerable part of 

 its extent. The silt loam occupies rolling and hilly land and is fre- 

 quently interrupted or bordered by steep slopes not suited to agricul- 

 tural purposes. Where properly cultivated it is a good soil for tim- 

 othy and small grain. Owing to the hilly character of the country, 

 transportation by wagon is rather difficult, and the type should be 

 used more for the raising of cattle and sheep, in order to utilize its 

 known capabilities for the production of hay and oats, rather than 

 for the growing of bulky grain products which must be hauled to 

 market at considerable cost. The stony loam is rather above the 

 average of the other members of the series for general farming. On 

 well-drained areas, particularly on northern and northwestern slopes, 

 apple orchards are highly successful. The gravelly loam and clay 

 loam, while only of very limited occurrence, are good soils, the former 

 being particularly adapted to apples and the latter to grasses. There 

 are large areas of these soils which are not as highly developed as 

 they should be or as they have been in the past. 



GLACIAL LAKE AND RIVER TERRACES. 



Another important group of soils occurs in the glacial region, 

 principally as terraces around lakes, or along streams, or as deposits 

 in areas which were formerly covered by water. At the close of the 

 Glacial epoch the lakes in this part of the United States were not 

 only more numerous, but the waters of those which remain reached a 

 higher level and covered areas that are now far above their present 

 shorelines. In some cases several distinct terraces, each one marked 

 by an old shoreline, are easily discernible, and represent successive 

 stages in the lowering of the water level. Their elevation above the 

 lake varies from a few feet to more than 200 feet. The surface of 

 each terrace is usually rolling to level, with a gradual slope toward 

 the lake, but sometimes areas of a rough and broken character occur. 

 The streams which cross these terraces have frequently by their cut- 

 ting produced deep, steep-sided valleys, especially near the lakes. 



The soils of this group vary from typical beach gravels to off- 

 shore deposits of heavy clays. The material from which they are de- 

 rived consists of glacial debris reworked and redeposited in the lakes 

 or along streams. While this glacial material is made up of rocks of 

 widely varying origin, a large proportion of it often consists of the 

 country rock. In the eastern part of the Great Lake region the per- 

 centage of sandstone and shale fragments is usually very high, while 

 in the western part more of the igneous rocks are present. This fact, 

 together with differences in drainage conditions, has given rise to sev- 

 eral series of soils. 



Clyde Series. The soils of the Clyde series consist of reworked 

 glacial material containing a large percentage of organic matter. The 

 surface soil of this series is of a dark-brown to black color, underlain 

 by gray, drab, or mottled yellow subsoils. The dark color of the sur- 



