20 rn:Li) operations of tmk bureau of soils, ioid. 



tlu' tlcpth of plowing eucli year. Such ti()iil)les have heeu reported 

 hy a miml)er of farmers on the Wei)ster soils. 



ArtiHcial (lraina«;e is necessary over a hir^je part of the county to 

 insure maximum production. Lar<re open ditches or 42-inch con- 

 crete tile mains are used to conduct the excess water to the natural 

 stream courses. Laterals of various sizes, depending on the water 

 to be carried, extend back in all directions to the low and depressed 

 areas. In the flat fields tile laterals are placed from 4 to 6 rods apart. 

 In the smaller and heavier pockets it is necessary to lay them as close 

 as 50 feet to provide adequate drainage. 



Ver\' little lime has been used on the soils of the county. The 

 local farm bureau rei:)orts that six carloads of crushed limestone 

 were used in 1918, mostly in the southeastern and southwestern parts 

 of the county. Many of the soil types would be benefited by liming, 

 but a large percentage of the black silty clay loam of the Webster 

 series is slightly calcareous at the surface, and here application of 

 lime would not be })rofitable. 



According to the United States Census $4,891 was expended for 

 fertilizers on 48 farms in 1919. Both acid phosphate and complete 

 commercial fertilizers are used. Barnyard manure is applied mostly 

 to corn land. The quantity produced is insufficient to maintain the 

 supply of organic matter in the soil, except possibly on the heavy 

 Webster soils that have been in cultivation only a comparatively 

 short time. 



Weeds of many varieties give considerable trouble, particularly in 

 wet seasons. The weeds reported most frequently are quack grass, 

 cocklebur, foxtail, morning-glory, Russian thistle, burdock, pink 

 smart-weed, and wild mustard. These occur in widely scattered lo- 

 calities and generally only in small patches in the fields. 



There was a rapid increase in the number of farms in the county 

 from 1880 to 1900. but the individual acreage reached its maximum 

 in 1900. The United States census shows 785 farms in 1880, and 

 1.885 in 1900. The average size of the farms increased from 140 acres 

 in 1880 to a maximum of 195.1 acres in 1900. The number of farms 

 reported by the 1920 census is 1.927, and the average size is given 

 as 178.8 acres. The Iowa Agricultural yearbook for 1918 reports 

 the total area occupied by buildings, feed lots, and public highways 

 as 17,340 acres, and the total acreage in pasture is given as 70.670. 

 The waste land that can not be utilized for any purpose is 5.935 

 acres. The majority of farms vary in size from 120 to 200 acres. 



Farms operated by tenants have increased rapidly in number, as 

 many of the owners have moved to tow^n. The 1920 census shows 

 45.5 per cent operated by owners, 53.3 per cent by tenants, and 1.2 

 per cent by managers. 



