SOIL SURVEY OF POBTER COUNTY, INDIANA. 9 



Railway (Cliicago outer belt line), the Michigan Central double-track 

 main line, the Gary & Interurban Traction Une, the Pennsylvania 

 Railroad double-track main hue (Fort Wayne route), the New York, 

 Cliicago & St. Louis Railroad main hne, the Grand Trunk Railroad, 

 the Chesapeake & Ohio of Indiana, the Chicago & Erie Railroad 

 (double track), the Pennsylvania Railroad (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, 

 Chicago & St. Louis), and the Chicago & Eastern lUinois Railroad. 

 Branches of the Gary & Interurban Traction hne between Chesterton 

 and Valparaiso afford the only north and south rail transportation in 

 the county. An auto-bus line has been established between Val- 

 paraiso and Kouts. The Pere Marquette Raih-oad enters the county 

 from the northeast and runs to Chicago over the Lake Shore hne 

 from Porter. There are several transfer and connecting points 

 Avithin the county. 



A complete system of limestone-surface roads radiates from Val- 

 paraiso. Improved roads are numerous in Portage, Westchester, 

 Union, and Boone Townships. The southeastern part of the county 

 is less well supplied, but the system is being rapidly extended to aU 

 sections. Some of the roads are surfaced with gravel. Over sandy 

 lands the roads are sometimes improved by adding clay, and in clay 

 areas they are sometimes surfaced with sand. Other roads are merely 

 graded and surfaced with the materials at hand. Most of the roads 

 foUow land hnes, although there are a number of diagonal, short-cut 

 roads. The Lincoln Highway passes through Valparaiso. The only 

 good road to the Lake Michigan beach is north of Chesterton at 

 Waverly Beach. Indistinct trails cross the sand dunes at several 

 places. 



Rural mail dehvery and telephone lines reach all parts of the 

 county. 



Valparaiso, Chesterton, Kouts, Hebron, Maiden, Wheeler, and 

 other towns are markets for the agricultural products grown in their 

 vicinities. Prices are governed by the market in Chicago. Large 

 quantities of dairy products are shipped to Chicago from this county. 



CLIMATE. 



There is no Weather Bureau station in Porter County, but the 

 records of the station at Hammond, Lake County, are fairly repre- 

 sentative of local chmatic conditions. The mean annual tempera- 

 ture is 49° F. The summer mean temperature is about 71° F., and 

 the winter mean about 25° F. Many and sudden variations in 

 temperature occur. The monthly range may be as great as 80°. 

 The highest temperature recorded at Hammond is 104° F., and the 

 lowest —23° F. 



The rainfall averages about 31 inches per annum, with the heaviest 

 precipitation in the spring and summer. May is the wettest month. 

 34365°— 18 2 



