SOIL SURVEY OF PORTER COUNTY, INDIANA. 39 



The boundaries of this type are often difficult to estabUsh, as the 

 soil grades by imperceptible changes in elevation or color into sur- 

 rounding Maumee, Plainfield, and Waukesha types. 



This type is mapped in a large area near Grassmere and in several 

 smaller bodies in this part of the county. 



The surface is level except for a general southward slope of about 

 5 feet per mile. The type occupies a position intermediate in ele- 

 vation between the lower lying Maumee types and the higher Plain- 

 field soils. The natural drainage of the Newton fine sandy loam 

 was imperfect, notwithstanding the porous substratum, because of 

 the high level of the water table throughout the Kankakee Basin, 

 but the soil is now well drained by a system of ditches. 



Typically the Newton fine sandy loam is a desirable soil, com- 

 paring favorably with the heavier soils in crop yields, but in Porter 

 County crops on this type do not do so well as elsewhere. Tlie soil 

 seems to be in an extremely acid condition. Where it is still in 

 prairie sod the grasses make a very irregular, patchy growth, while 

 on the lands that have been cultivated there may be a dense growth 

 of dewberries, cinquefoil, briers, white violets, and sorrel. The com 

 crop is frequently a failure, and oats and wheat make a very patchy 

 growth. Efforts to grow clover have generally proved unsuccessful. 



Investigations of this class of land * indicate that its unproduc- 

 tiveness is due largely to acidity, and can be corrected by heavy 

 applications of lime. It appears that nitrates with aluminum as the 

 base, are formed rapidly, and these salts in very dilute solutions so 

 inhibit the development of plant roots and root hairs that the crops 

 fail or make only a stunted growth. 



Formerly this soil was used chiefly for pasture and the production 

 of wild hay, but within the last 10 years most of it has been improved 

 and devoted to the production of corn, oats, wheat, and hay. While 

 total crop failures formerly were common, crop yields have generally 

 been increased and are about equal to those obtained on the Maumee 

 fine sandy loam. 



The greater part of the Newton fine sandy loam has been im- 

 proved by drainage, followed by heavy applications of lime or finely 

 ground limestone. In most cases it has been found necessary and 

 profitable to apply phosphatic fertilizers. 



This land is held for $100 to $150 an acre. 



NEWTON LOAM. 



The surface soil of the Newton loam is a dark-brown, mellow loam 

 to heavy fine sandy loam, ranging from 8 to 12 inches in depth. 

 The subsoil to a depth of about 2^ feet is a mottled yellowish-brown 



» Bui. No. 170, Ind. Agr. Expt. Sta. See also Bui No 157, of the same statloa. 



