132 



SCIENCE AND SOIL 



Stockton series. Brown to black soils with heavy yellow subsoils, derived 

 from old alluvial sediments. These soils have been used principally for the 

 production of grain. The lighter members of this series have been adapted 

 to fruit. 



Willow series. Brown soils consisting of wash deposited by intermittent foot- 

 hill streams. These soils have been used almost exclusively for dry farming 

 grain crops. Large ranches are being broken up and brought under irrigation, 

 and alfalfa and sugar beets are likely to prove the most important crops. 



The following additional quotations from Bureau of Soils Bulle- 

 tin 55 will serve to acquaint the student with the general charac- 

 ter of the more detailed descriptions which are given of the soil 

 types singly and in series: 



Leonardtown loam 1 (Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, 196,834 acres). 

 "The Leonardtown loam is a valuable upland soil of Maryland and Virginia. 

 The surface is slightly rolling, the drainage in most areas is good, and altogether 

 the land is well suited to general farming. The soil has a special value in the 

 production of wheat and grass." 



Marion silt loam (Illinois, Missouri, 695,040 acres). "A large pro- 

 portion of southern Illinois is occupied by Marion silt loam. The type occupies 

 level prairie land and is characterized by hard silty clay subsoil locally known as 

 ' hardpan. ' It is low in organic matter, and this, combined with the impervious 

 nature of the subsoil, causes crops to suffer in wet as well as dry seasons. Wheat, 

 corn, and grasses are the principal crops, but the average yields are considerably 

 lower than upon the black prairie soils. It seems especially well adapted to 

 apples, and many large orchards have been planted. Strawberries also do well." 



Marshall series (glacial and loessial regions). "The Marshall series in- 

 cludes the dark-colored upland glacial and loessial soils, which cover almost all 

 of the great prairie region of the Central West. The soils of this series are 

 characterized and distinguished from those of the Miami series by the relatively 

 large quantity of organic matter in the surface soils, which gives them a dark 

 brown to black color. The topography is level to rolling, and artificial drainage 

 is necessary on many level and low -lying areas to secure the best results. The 

 soils of this series are very productive and constitute the great corn soils of the 

 country. 



"The Marshall silt loam, loam, and clay loanf constitute the principal soil 

 types throughout the great corn belt, and rank among the most productive of 

 our general farming soils. In Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska, corn, oats, clover, 

 and timothy are the leading crops, while in Minnesota and the Dakotas wheat 

 becomes of primary importance. The Miami (Marshall) black clay loam, when 

 drained, is also an exceedingly fertile soil, being particularly well adapted 



1 The Leonardtown loam and Leonardtown gravelly loam in the Norfolk, Vir- 

 ginia, report are the Portsmouth silt loam. 



