SOIL SURVEY OF PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA. 25 



before frosts. In wet seasons the crop is likely to be a failure, but 

 under favorable conditions yields of 25 bushels or more per acre are 

 obtained. 



The Crosby silt loam is used largely for dairying, a large part 

 being in pastine and hay land, with corn grown for ensilage and 

 small grains as cash crops. Practically the only fertilizer used is 

 barnyard manure. 



This type sells for about $100 an acre, though the price varies 

 according to location and improvements. 



The principal needs of the Crosby silt loam are more thorough 

 drainage and the incorporation of organic matter to improve its 

 physical condition and increase the nitrogen content. Although the 

 substratum is calcareous, the surface material is deficient in lime. 

 The use of finely-ground limestone improves the structure of the soil, 

 and renders it more favorable for the production of clover and other 

 legumes. 



CARRINGTON SILT LOAM. 



The Carrington silt loam consists of a dark-brown to black, friable 

 silt loam about 12 inches deep, underlain by brown to yellowish- 

 brown silty clay' loam to silty clay. The substratum usually con- 

 sists of a heavy, slightly calcareous till. Bowlders, stones, and 

 gravel occur on the surface and in the soil. In flat areas and where 

 the subsoil is dense, mottlings occur in the subsoil. 



The greater part of this type occurs in the prairie belt around 

 Hebron, Hurlburt, and Boone Grove. A large area lies about 

 Wlieeler, and is characterized by a somewhat heavier and more 

 mottled subsoil than the typical Carrington silt loam, being more 

 nearly like the Brookston silt loam.^ 



In general the topography of the Carrington silt loam is gently 

 undulating to gently rolling, with long, smooth slopes and irregular 

 knolls. Where it borders on the marsh lands south and east of 

 Hebron and east of Boone Grove, the type is quite flat and has many 

 of the characteristics of the Waukesha silt loam. The drainage is 

 good. It is effected by depressions and small stream ways, which 

 have been extended by open ditches and tile drains. The structure 

 of the subsoil and substratum usually is open enough to permit under- 

 drainage and oxidation of the material to a depth of several feet. 



Tlie Carrington silt loam is one of the most important soils, agri- 

 culturally, in Porter County, and includes practically no waste land. 

 It originally was prairie, although a scattered growth of bur oak and 

 hazel brush occurred near the forested lands. It is a good general- 

 farming soil, and corn, oats, and hay are the principal crops. Beef 

 cattle, dairy cattle, and hogs are raised. Thirty-five or forty bushels 

 of corn or oats per acre is considered a fair yield, but this may be 



I The Brookston soils differ from those of the Carrington series in having mottled subsoils and flatter 

 surface features with less well developed drainage. 



