BULLETIN OF THE 



No. 159 



Contribution from the Bureau of Soils, Milton Whitney, Chief 

 January 14, 1915. 



SOILS OF THE SASSAFRAS SERIES. 



By J. A. Bonsteel, 

 Scientist in Soil Survey. 



DEFINITION OF THE SERIES. 



The soils of the Sassafras series are distinguished by the charac- 

 teristic brown or yellowish-brown color of the surface soils and by the 

 yellow or reddish-} r ellow color of the subsoil. At depths ranging 

 from 2 to 3 feet the deeper subsoil is frequently sufficiently tinged 

 with red to become a pale orange. In the dry condition both the 

 surface soils and subsoils of the more sandy members of the series 

 are decidedly yellow, but when moist the deeper brown shade is 

 usually developed. A fresh cut in the subsoil of practically every 

 member of the series will usually show a distinct reddish coloration 

 below a depth of 2 feet. 



Practically all of the typical occurrences of the soils of the Sassa- 

 fras series show the existence either of a distinct bed of medium to 

 coarse gravel or of fine gravel mixed with coarse and medium sand 

 at depths which range from 24 to 5 feet. In the case of large areas 

 of the Sassafras silt loam the underlying gravel bed is covered to a 

 depth of S to 10 feet by the heavy, compact, silty loam soil and sub- 

 soil. It is generally true that the gravel is coarser and the beds are 

 more continuous and thicker near the inland border of the region 

 where these soils are found, becoming thinner and grading into fine 

 gravel and coarse sand as the seaward margin of the various types is 

 approached. 



In certain localities, as on Long Island, along the lower courses 

 of the Delaware River, and opposite the mouth of the Susquehanna 

 Eiver, large blocks of stone or bowlders derived from various forma- 

 tions of the Appalachian and Piedmont regions are found within the 

 underlying gravels or scattered sparingly over the surface of the 

 different soil types. Otherwise the different soils of the series are 

 characteristically stone-free. 



All of the different types consist of water-laid materials, chiefly 

 formed as marine, estuarine, and fluvial terraces, although some of 

 63555°— Bull. 159—15 1 



