POTASH IN MASSACHUSETTS SOILS 3 



Limestone is a negligible rock east of the Connecticut River, although a small 

 deposit in Bolton, on the eastern edge of Worcester County, supplied the needs 

 of surrounding towns a century ago. The limestone formation of the Green 

 Mountains extends into Berkshire and Franklin Counties and influences some 

 of the soil within their bounds. The absence of limestone results in supplies of 

 soft water for home and public use throughout most of the State. Reports of the 

 State Board of Health show that streams supplying the Wachusett Reservoir 

 carry water with a hardness of only 1, while mountain streams supplying Pitts- 

 field bear water with a hardness of 5.3. But in those parts of Berkshire County 

 where limestone is absent, the natural waters are as soft as those in the eastern 

 counties. 



In the Soil Survey of Worcester County, Latimer points out that weathering 

 of the glacial drift seldom goes deeper than 4 feet and in most cases does not go 

 beyond 30 to 36 inches. An accumulation of organic matter and a brown color 

 are about the only changes from the underlying drift to the overlying soil (p. 1549). 

 Corroborative of these observations by Latimer are the results of a survey of the 

 area now submerged in the Wachusett Reservoir. This survey was made by the 

 State Board of Health to determine the probable depth to which the soil must 

 be removed from the bed of the reservoir, in order to prevent excessive organic 

 matter in the water. Organic carbon was determined in numerous samples and 

 at a depth of 36 inches was found to have shrunk to little more than traces in most 

 cases and not more than .25 percent in any. 



Gianite and gneiss influence the largest area of soils of the State: 2,400,000 

 acres are included in the different series derived from such glacial material. The 

 largest of these is called the Gloucester Series, and is found on the uplands. 

 The drift from which it has been weathered was deposited directly by the ice 

 as it ground its way across the land, and is a mass of earth ranging from clay to 

 angular pieces of granite. 



In the Soil Survey of Franklin County (p. 15), Latimer says: 

 The soils of the eastern uplands, like most of the soils of eastern New 

 England, are not inherently poor as is usually considered. Although 

 they are not so fertile as the soils of the western plains or prairie regions 

 of the United States, they are more fertile than most of the soils of the 

 Atlantic Coastal Plain or Piedmont Region and compare favorably in 

 fertility with the non-lime soils of the North Atlantic States. 



The next series of granitic soils in extent is the Merrimac Series, which is 

 derived from the glacial material deposited by the waters formed from the melting 

 ice. The underlying drift is usually stratified and ranges from clay to rounded 

 boulders worn by the water. These soils are found on the plains and terraces 

 and gravelly knolls. In the Soil Survey of Hampden and Hampshire Counties 

 (p. 18), Latimer says: 



The soils developed on the terraces are similar to the soils of southern 

 New England in the same situations, and they approach in develop- 

 ment and character the soils of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of Long Island 

 and New Jersey .... However, they are less fertile than the hill or 

 bottom-land soils, as they are weathered from lighter textured material 

 than the hill soils and are leached to a greater extent than the upland or 

 bottom-land soils. 

 Soils influenced by mica schist are also widely distributed and are divided 

 into numerous series because the different schistose rocks vary in proportions 

 of mica and in color. The most striking schist soils are those of the Brookfield 

 Series in the central part of Worcester County. The Brimfield schist, which 

 contains considerable iron, dominates the glacial drift and imparts a distinctive 

 ellow color to these soils. 



