THE CLYDE SERIES OF SOILS. . 23 



the Central States. The type is susceptible of efficient tillage with 

 rather light teams and tools, and these are used for the more inten- 

 sive forms of cultivation. In fact much of the work of the market- 

 garden farms is performed by hand after the land has been fitted 

 by horse labor for the planting of the various crops. 



CLYDE GRAVELLY SAND. 



The Clyde gravelly sand has only been encountered in two areas, both 

 occurring in the southern peninsula of Michigan. Its total extent 

 amounts to only 24,656 acres as mapped to the present time. Its most 

 characteristic occurrence is in the vicinity of Saginaw, Mich., where 

 it is found along eld beach lines of the glacial Lake Saginaw, and in 

 low slopes along bases of the surrounding glacial hills. It is found in 

 Allegan County, Mich., in the form of low, rounded gravelly hills 

 and as the chief soil of the low terraces which border the Kalamazoo 

 River in that county. 



The surface soil of the Clyde gravelly sand to an average depth 

 of about 10 inches is a medium-textured, dark-brown, loamy sand, 

 marked by the presence of a considerable proportion of medium to 

 fine gravel. The subsoil is rather coarse, incoherent gravelly sand 

 which is either underlain by gravel, as in the case of the river ter- 

 races, or grades into coarse sand and gravel at a depth of about 2 

 to 3 feet. Usually clay is found at a depth of 4 to 6 feet. 



The surface soil always contains a sufficient amount "of partly de- 

 cayed organic matter to give it a characteristic dark-brown or 

 nearly black color and to render it somewhat loamy. The type, as 

 a whole, is fairly well drained owing to its sloping position on up- 

 land areas and to the near presence of drainage ways on the river 

 terraces. 



The general farm crops of the region where it occurs are chiefly 

 grown upon the Clyde gravelly sand. Corn produces fairly good 

 yields ranging from 25 to 35 bushels per acre. It is found necessary 

 to use stable manure freely upon this rather porous soil in order to 

 secure the larger yields. It is not a typical corn soil and other crops 

 are better suited to it. 



Among the small grains both rye and buckwheat produce fair 

 yields. They are more commonly grown than either wheat or oats 

 and are better adapted to this soil. Rye yields 12 to 15 bushels per 

 acre, and buckwheat 15 to 20 bushels. Oats give only small yields 

 in normal years, owing to the fact that the soil does not retain a 

 sufficient amount of moisture to supply the needs of the crop at the 

 time of the formation of the grain. Either rye, which matures 

 earlier, or buckwheat, which is a late summer crop, should be pre- 

 ferred to oats. 



