40 BULLETIN 141, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



sloping topography. In practically all cases these different areas 

 represent either lakes and ponds or extensive swamps which existed 

 before artificial drainage was supplied. In its natural condition the 

 Clyde silty clay loam supported a heavy growth of deciduous water- 

 loving trees, including several varieties of oak and ash, elm, and silver 

 maple. Treeless areas were covered with a rank growth of sedges 

 and swamp grasses. In the early settlement of the country these 

 swampy areas were left undrained, and it is only within more recent 

 times that large areas of the Clyde silty clay loam have been re- 

 deemed for agricultural uses through the installation of expensive 

 open drainage ditches and the laying of tile underdrains. In some 

 of the smaller areas the cutting of a single drainage ditch has fre- 

 quently been adequate to drain the type, while larger areas have been 

 brought under cultivation through the extensive community ditches 

 into which individual farms and fields have been drained by means 

 of tile. At the present time nearly all of the larger areas and many 

 of the smaller tracts have been thus improved, and probably 75 per 

 cent of the total area of the type is now used for the production of 

 some crop. 



The Clyde silty clay loam consists of poorly drained areas in the 

 glacial till upland, of swampy tracts along some of the smaller 

 streams, and of areas of previously swampy land in the basins of 

 extinct glacial lakes. The surface material to a depth of 2 feet or 

 more usually consists of a mingling of silty material washed in from 

 the surrounding uplands and of a large amount of partially decayed 

 organic matter contributed by the marsh vegetation which flourished 

 under previous conditions. 



The Clyde silty clay loam requires rather careful management to 

 secure the best crop results. If it is plowed and harrowed when 

 either too moist or too dry it is liable to become baked or clodded, 

 with a corresponding decrease in crop production. When it is 

 plowed in the proper condition of moisture the surface soil crumbles 

 into a granular loamy mass capable of producing excellent crops. It 

 is upon thoroughly drained areas that the best results are obtained, 

 and drainage is the most fundamental form of improvement for this 

 type. 



In practically all of the areas where the Clyde silty clay loam has 

 been adequately drained corn constitutes the chief crop. It is usually 

 planted for two or more years in succession before being followed by 

 a small grain crop. In some instances it has been grown for 10 or 

 15 years without serious diminution in yield. Corn produces from 

 40 to 80 bushels per acre, with a general average in excess of 45 

 bushels per acre. Both the yellow and white dent varieties are 

 grown. A considerable acreage of corn is grown for cutting into the 

 silo, giving yields of 12 to 15 tons per acre. This use of the corn 



