2 BULLETIX 633, U. 5. DEPAETMENT OF AGBICTJLTUEE. 



The soil of this region was formed mostly from limestone in which 

 was imbedded a considerable amount of flint, sometimes in rather 

 large masses. The limestone itself was dissolved out by rain water 

 carrying small quantities of carbonic-acid gas in solution, leaving 

 the impurities of the limestone (consisting mainly of small or large 

 particles of flint ) to constitute the resulting soil. On the slopes, 

 where the finer particles of soil have been washed away, the land is 

 rocky, the rocks consisting of angular fragments of flint, for the most 

 part from 1 to 3 or 4 inches in diameter. Elsewhere, especially 

 where the land was originally covered with blackjack timber, the 

 soil is rather gravelly. The alluvial soil of the bottom- contains more 

 or less gravel. On the higher ridges, which were originally prairie, 

 the soil is somewhat finer in texture and less inclined to be gravelly. 

 These prairie soils were formed in part from shales. On the whole, 

 the soil may be described as gravelly loam or gravelly silt loam. 

 Like most medium to heavy soils, it is fairly fertile, especially when 

 abundantly supplied with decaying organic matter such as manure 

 and the refuse from crops. 



The first settlers who came into this region came mainly from 

 wooded regions and took up land along the streams. Most of the 

 stream bottoms have been in cultivation for about three-quarters of 

 a century. About 40 or 45 years ago farmers began to come into the 

 region from prairie districts, especially from Illinois. These settled 

 on the prairies. The prairie lands have thus been in cultivation 

 somewhat less than half a century. 



The wooded slopes between the prairies and the bottom lands have 

 been cleared and put into cultivation mainly during the last 30 years, 

 the amount of woodland left being scarcely sufficient to supply local 

 farm needs. 



THE LOCAL AGRICULTURE. 



Wheat is decidedly the most important of the local crops at the 

 present time, corn being second in importance. The percentage of 

 the crop area devoted to wheat for the crop year 1913-14 on the 

 farms included in this survey was 4.6.8. or practically half of 

 the entire area. Corn occupied 25.1 per cent. The position of 

 these two crops, so far as acreage is concerned, has been practically 

 reversed in the last 20 years. In 1890, according to the census for 

 that year, corn occupied 46 per cent of the crop area in Barry County 

 and 41 per cent in Lawrence County. In the same year wheat occu- 

 pied 24 per cent of the crop area of Barry County and 33 per cent in 

 Lawrence County. 



The reason for this change in the status of wheat and corn in this 

 locality is not known definitely. The present high price of wheat is 

 not responsible for it, for the crop to which this survey relates was 



