36 BULLETIN 141, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



far exceeds that given either to the small grains or to the hoed 

 crops. The yields of hay vary considerably in the different areas 

 where the Clyde loam has been encountered. In general, in south- 

 ern Michigan, northern Indiana, and western New York, the yields 

 of hay range from 1J to 2 or even 2-| tons per acre. The average 

 yields for the Clyde loam in these locations may be confidently 

 stated at 1-| tons per acre, or greater, dependent somewhat upon 

 seasonal variations in the rainfall. Mixed timothy and clover con- 

 stitute the principal acreage, although upon the better drained areas 

 clover, seeded alone, is an important crop, both for the production 

 of hay and, in central Michigan, for the production of seed. The 

 alsike clover and the medium red clover are used to a consid- 

 erable extent both in mixed and pure seeding. It has been found 

 that the alsike clover will make an excellent growth even where 

 drainage has not been thoroughly established, while the medium 

 red clover is somewhat more exacting and requires good to perfect 

 drainage to produce its maximum yields. 



Among the small grains wheat is the most important, although 

 the acreage devoted to this crop in the more eastern States is de- 

 creasing and the yields are not especially high. They range from 

 10 or 12 bushels per acre to 20 bushels or more. The average is 

 not much more than 15 bushels per acre. This is, however, in 

 excess of the yields secured upon many of the upland soils in the 

 same general region. Oats are even better suited to the Clyde loam 

 than either winter or spring wheat, and the yields are high in the 

 different areas where the crop is grown. In Michigan the yields 

 range from 35 to 60 bushels per acre, while the general average 

 through a long period of time may be stated at 40 bushels per acre, 

 or somewhat greater. Consequently the oat crop is, to a considerable 

 extent, displacing wheat as the small grain crop. Aside from a tend- 

 ency toward excessive growth of straw, the Clyde loam constitutes 

 an almost ideal soil for oat production. 



In all of the areas where the Clyde loam is developed, corn con- 

 stitutes its most extensive intertilled crop. The yields are fair to 

 good, ranging from 25 to 45 bushels per acre with a general average 

 of about 35 bushels. Its use for corn growing is shown in Plate III, 

 figure 1. 



Many thousands of acres of sugar beets are annually grown upon 

 the Clyde loam in the southern peninsula of Michigan, and there is 

 a strong tendency to increase this acreage in all localities where an 

 adequate supply of labor for the care of the crop can be obtained. 

 The average yield ranges from 7 to 10 tons per acre with exceptional 

 yields as high as 15 to 18 tons. 



Beans are grown to some extent as an intertilled crop, preceding 

 either wheat or oats, in both Michigan and Indiana. The yields are 



