SOIL SURVEY OF ANOKA COUNTY, MINN. 11 



clover, collectively occupied 11,001 acres and produced 16,542 tons, or 

 1.5 tons per acre. Owing to the high prices often paid in St. Paul 

 and Minneapolis for hay, part of the crop is sold. The second cutting 

 of clover grown alone is used for seed, which is also sold. The seed 

 yields about 2 to 3 bushels per acre, and sells for $7 to $10 a bushel. 

 The census reports a valuation of $60,114 under the heading of " all 

 other crops." This probabl}- consists largely of revenue derived from 

 the sale of wire grass cut from jvet peat land, or what is commonly 

 termed marsh, the product being used in the manufacture of grass 

 matting. The area cut over for wire grass is probably about 4,000 

 acres. 



The 1910 census reports 2,992 apple trees and 2.784 plum trees in 

 the county. Small fruits occupied 81 acres. Sixtj^-seven acres were 

 in strawberries, which produced 106,523 quarts in 1909, and 10 acres 

 in raspberries, which produced 7,360 quarts. The value of all fruits 

 produced amounted to $12,597. 



The census reports the value of live stock and live-stock products 

 produced in 1909 as $566,137. Dairy products, excluding that por- 

 tion used in the home, amounted in value to $285,363 ; animals were 

 sold or slaughtered to the value of $171,829 ; poultry and eggs pro- 

 duced amounted in value to $107,966; and $979 worth of wool was 

 clipped. The 1910 census reports 8,649 milch cows in the countj^, 

 6,949 other cattle, 4,756 horses, 4,396 hogs, and 1,318 sheep. Hogs are 

 raised in connection with dairying, and sold on the near-by city 

 markets. Practically every farmer keeps some milch cows. The 

 product is sold mainly in the form of either whole milk or cream. 

 Some of it is sold to local creameries. A considerable proportion 

 goes direct to the Twin City markets, being collected by motor 

 trucks or wagons which follow specified routes. A powdered-milk 

 factory at Anoka uses a large proportion of the whole milk pro- 

 duced in a wide surrounding territor3\ Several creameries in various 

 sections of the county have beea discontinued. 



Crop production in Anoka County is practically restricted to the 

 upland. The use of the peat and marsh areas is in general limited 

 to the cutting of wild hay, the cutting of wire grass to be used in 

 grass-matting manufacture, and pasturage. Any extensive cultiva- 

 tion of the peat land is necessarily dependent upon artificial drain- 

 age, which has already' been done to some extent. At present there 

 is no particular recognition of the adaptation of the various soils 

 to certain crops. The soils with cla}' subsoils are known to be more 

 durable than those of deep sandy character, but the same crops are 

 grown on both kinds of land. 



Practically all the annual crops are spring sown except rye, 

 which is usually seeded in September. On the heavier soils, which 

 are not so subject to wind erosion or drifting, early fall plowing may 



