SOIL SURVEY OF WRIGHT COUNTY, IOWA. 29 



3 to 3^ tons per acre. Very little wheat is grown. Sugar beets 

 occupy a large acreage on this soil. They yield from 10 to 16 tons 

 per acre, averaging about 12 tons. Potatoes do well in the more 

 loamy places, but the tendency is to grow too much vine. 



An alternation of com and oats largely comprises the present 

 rotation. An occasional seeding to timothy and clover is coming 

 into practice on many farms. On some tenant fanns corn has been 

 grown in the same fields for a period of years. Soy beans are 

 grown occasionally in the corn when it is to be hogged down or 

 used for silage. Fruit growing is confined to a few trees on the 

 individual farms. 



Farms on this soil type are well improved. Rents ordinarily 

 range from $7 to $15 an acre, depending on drainage, productivity 

 of the farm, and improvements. The price of land varies from $225 

 to $350 an acre. A few highly improved farms located near Eagle 

 Grove and Clarion sold recently (1919) for $400 an acre. 



Drainage is the first improvement needed to produce maximum 

 crops. The tile laterals are usually placed from 4 to 6 rods apart. 

 Care should be taken to get sufficient fall in both laterals and mains 

 to carry away promptly the excessive rainfall. 



Fall plowing should be practiced where possible, to allow earlier 

 work in fields. A system of crop rotation to include timothy, clover, 

 and other legumes, should be followed. Where good drainage is 

 established, alfalfa will make an excellent growth and yield. The 

 return of all the stable manure produced, supplemented by S3^stem- 

 atic turning under of green-manure crops, should keep up the fer- 

 tility of the soils without the use of commercial fertilizers, except 

 where special crops are grown. 



WEBSTER SIT.TY CLAY LOAM. 



The Webster silty clay loam, to a depth usually ranging from 12 

 to 24 inches, is a black, sticky clay loam. This is underlain by a 

 layer of dark-brown or mottled gray and brown, tough clay loam 

 or clay having a thickness of a few inches. The lower subsoil is the 

 parent material or glacial till, which has been modified only to a very 

 slight extent by leaching or oxidation. In texture it is usually a 

 clay loam, and in color gray or a gray mottled with j^ellow or brown. 

 Where the lighter color prevails, the lower subsoil contains much 

 white, silty, floury material, and the structure is quite friable. ^ATien 

 dry it has a whitish-gray color and is either granular or chalky. In 

 places a heavy mottled or olive-gray clay subsoil extends to a depth 

 of 3 feet or more. A characteristic feature of the lower subsoil of 

 this type, whatever its color or texture, is the presence of a large 

 amount of lime. This lime has not accumulated in the subsoil, but 



