28 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1912. 



The Rockford stony clay loam is <lerived from glacial till or 

 morainic deposits laid down at a time when the lower Hood River 

 Valley was filled by extensive ice sheets and left as a blanket of 

 rock and soil on the rocky floor of the valley upon the retreat of the 

 glaciers. Remnants of this material remam on the snow and ice 

 clad slopes of Mount Hood. A part of the material has doubtless 

 been removed by subsequent erosion, and this soil type represents 

 those areas that have resisted removal. 



Forests of pme and oak, the latter predommating, originally 

 covered the entke area of this soil. The growth was somewhat 

 open and there was a fair grazmg for the cattle belonging to the 

 early settlers. With the extension of the cultivated area parts of 

 the more level areas were cleared and planted with orchard, and at 

 present possibly half of the forest has been removed. 



While parts of this type carry so much stone that it is doubtful 

 whether their clearing would prove profitable, the larger part of the 

 comparatively level bodies can be and is beuig cleared, the rock 

 removed, and orchards set out. 



Where the physical conditions of this soil are favorable it is well 

 adapted to the production of the fruits grown in this section. Areas 

 of deficient drainage can be profitably used for growing the forage 

 crops. 



Rockford stony day loam, eroded phase. — The Rockford stony clay 

 loam includes an eroded phase, which is indicated on the soil map by 

 means of ruling. This phase embraces sloping and hilly, rocky lands 

 parallelmg the Columbia River west of the town of Hood River, on 

 the Oregon side, and in the vicinity of Bingen, on the Washington 

 side. It carries' a greater quantity of rock fragments than the typical 

 soil. The clay loam fine earth may persist to a depth of 6 feet or 

 more, but in most areas the subsoil is a heavier clay loam, or the clay 

 loam may be underlain at less than 6 feet by a mass of glacial bowl- 

 ders, with some finer material. Where the heavy clay loam subsoil 

 occurs the surface soil is seldom over 18 inches in depth. The stony 

 subsoil is commonly cemented into a very compact mass, wliich can 

 be broken only by blasting, and owing to its presence portions of this 

 phase are of no agricultural value. 



The surface is always sloping, and the slopes are sometimes very 

 steep, although it is not subject to erosion. The larger part of the 

 phase carries rocks in quantities sufficient to prohibit its clearing 

 and utilization for cultivated crops. The boundaiy between tliis 

 phase of the type and the bordering higher-lying soils of the floor of 

 the valley is marked by an irregular line, at which the surface of the 

 land begins to drop toward the Columbia River or toward the Hood 

 River. Bodies of this phase are bordered on the side nearest the 



