22 FIELD OPEEATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 191(j. 



The surface drainage is good, and underdrainage is better than in 

 most of the silt loam type. Some fields are subject to erosion. 



This type is not nearly so c xtensive as the Miami silt loam. About 

 75 per cent of it is under cultivation and the remamder is in pasture 

 or woodlots. As on the silt loam type, the farming consists of dairy- 

 ing and growing corn, oats, hay, and wheat. Crop yields almost equal 

 those on the silt loam. 



The Miami loam is handled in much the same way as the Miami 

 silt loam. Probably more of it is in pasture. It is somewhat easier 

 to cultivate and keep in good tilth, owing to the more loamy char- 

 acter of the surface soil, but the topography often necessitates small 

 or irregular fields, and care to prevent erosion. Excepting barnyard 

 manure, little fertilizer is used. 



The average value of this type is about $100 an acre. 



Like the other light-colored soils, this type is in need of organic 

 matter and nitrogen, which are best supphed by addmg manure and 

 growing the legumes. 



MIAMI SILT LOAM. 



The Miami silt loam typically is a light grayish-yellow or brownish- 

 gray, smooth, friable silt loam to an average depth of 10 or 12 inches. 

 This is underlain by light yellowish brown or buff silt loam to silty 

 clay loam, which is slightly friable, but becomes somewhat plastic 

 at about 22 inches. The lower subsoil is a somewhat plastic, mod- 

 erately compact silty clay loam, becoming heavier and more brittle 

 with depth. It is yellowish brown in color, and sometimes faintly 

 mottled with yellow and gray. Lime can not be detected by tests 

 with acid within 2| or 3 feet of the surface, but is usually found in 

 the lower lying material and throughout the substratum, which usu- 

 ally is a heavy tiU extending to a considerable depth. Some bowl- 

 ders and small stones are found on the surface and m the soil section. 



Some variations from the typical occur within the areas of this 

 type. On the morainic ridge northeast of Chesterton there is a ten- 

 dency toward the mottlings and the heavy compact subsoil of the 

 adjoining Crosby silt loam. Where the Miami silt loam is intricately 

 associated with the loam and fine sandy loam types, some shght 

 textural variations occur in the soil and subsoil. In the large areas 

 along the Valparaiso-Hebron road, the soil is comparatively uniform 

 in texture. In a virgin state the type has a dark-gray surface layer 

 1 to 3 inches thick, representing the zone of leaf mold accumulation. 

 The surface of plowed fields when wet appears dark and when dry 

 is very light. 



The Miami silt loam comprises most of the top of the main di- 

 viding moraine of the county. . One large area extends from Val- 

 paraiso to Woodville Junction, and another from near Hays School 



