40 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1919. 



(li\i(I('(l thai till' iilirous iiiiitciinl and plant tissues can not l)e identi- 

 lii'd, the classilication Muck has been given. Black Peat is the name 

 h)cally a])i)lied to Muck. 



"Muck is (K'xeloped in small areas scattered over the entire county. 

 It occupies low, formerly ponded areas and undrained sloughs where 

 water now stan<ls fi'om 4 to 15 inches deep the entire year. Where 

 these inundated heds occur, uuirsh symbols are used to indicate the 

 condition. Many of the Muck areas have been drained and are under 

 cultivation. The poorly drained areas all support a more or less 

 dense growth of water-loving grasses, cane, and rushes. 



Muck gives fair crops of corn on well-drained fields that have been 

 in cultivation several seasons. Timothy and clover yield well. Sugar 

 beets are gi'own successfully on a number of small areas. These soils 

 are especially adapted to onions, celery, and truck crops. 



Where crops are injured and retarded by concentrations of alkali 

 salts, manure should be applied after adequate drainage has been es- 

 tablished. 



SUMMARY. 



W^right County is situated just north of the center of the State 

 of Iowa and has an area of 575 S(|uare miles, or 368.000 acres. 



The land surface is that of a broad, level drift plain, broken in 

 the eastern half by scattered hills. The county varies in elevation 

 from 1,008 to 1,240 feet above sea level. 



A belt of high morainic hills, beginning in the north-central part 

 of the county and extending in a general southeasterly direction, 

 forms a drainage divide between the Iowa River on the east and 

 the Boone River on the west side of the countJ^ These two rivers, 

 with their few tributary streams, constitute the drainage system. 

 Over most of the county the drainage is sluggish to poor. 



The first settlement in the county was made in 1854 near the 

 present town site of Woolstock. The 1920 census gives the popula- 

 tion of the county as 20,348. A little more than 64 per cent of the 

 population is classed as rural. 



Good railroad facilities are supplied over the county, giving direct 

 communication with Chicago, St. Paul, Omaha, and Sioux City 

 markets. 



Eagle Grove, Clarion, Belmond, Dows, and Goldfield are the 

 principal trading centers. Local shipping points are conveniently 

 distributed over the county. 



The mean temperature for smnmer is 70.5° F., and for winter, 

 17.5° F. The mean annual rainfall is 32.36 inches. This is nor- 

 mally distributed so that all staple crops of the region thrive. The 

 growing season extends over an average period of 152 days. 



