40 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1916. 



and gray loam changing below to a grayish sandy loam or gravelly 

 sandy loam, which usually extends to a depth of several feet. In 

 most of the type the soil is acid, and the upper subsoil may be 

 slightly acid to neutral, but the lower subsoil and the substratum, 

 where very little weathering has taken place, may carry some cal- 

 careous material. 



This type occurs in a large body around Liberty View and in 

 several smaller areas scattered through the southern part of the 

 county. It is flat and naturally poorly drained. The position of 

 the type is intermediate between that of the Plainfield soils, which 

 have good drainage, and the Maumee soils which in their original 

 condition were under water a large part of the time. 



The Newton loam is not extensive, and is not important in the 

 agriculture of the county. 



It is derived from water-laid sediments, in association with the 

 Plainfield, Waukesha, and Maumee soils. Just why the soil is so 

 strongly acid or toxic to plant growth has not been fully explained, 

 but it seems to be a condition brought about by a high-water table 

 and excessive evaporation from the surface. Better drainage is 

 needed and when this is provided it is probable that the type wiU 

 give more satisfactory results with all the crops now grown. It has 

 been demonstrated that the acid or toxic condition of the soil can 

 be overcome, in a large measure at least, by heavy applications of 

 lime, and it is said that applications of phosphatic fertilizers are 

 beneficial. 



Most of the attempts at farming the Newton loam have proved 

 unsatisfactory, except where lime has been applied. It is formed in 

 the same way as the Newton fine sandy loam and the yields on the 

 two types are about the same. 



The value of the Newton loam ranges from about $100 to $150 an 

 acre. 



NEWTON SILT LOAM.* 



The Newton silt loam consists of a dark brownish gray heavy silt 

 loam, with an average depth of 10 inches, underlain by a grayish- 

 brown, sHghtly mottled with brown and gray, silty clay loam, which 

 grades at a depth of 12 to 16 inches into a mottled yellow, brown, and 

 gray plastic silty clay. The substratum consists of lake-deposited 

 clays, which are somewhat calcareous. 



This type occurs almost entirely in the northwestern part of the 

 county, as the lake-bed part of "Twenty-mile Prairie." 



The surface of the type is quite flat, except for slight swales and 

 irregularities. The drainage originally was imperfect, although this 



1 This soil is the same as one mapped in Lalje County, Ind. , the report of which will soon be published, 

 as the Newton silt loam, heavy subsoil yhase, and both difler from the typical silt loam in this subsoil 

 feature. 



