SOILS OF MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. 15 
accentuated in some measure by the sanding of the bogs, their virgin 
condition must have shown wide range in the proportion of muck 
and sand of which they are largely composed. In fact the countless 
areas that have never been improved leave no room for doubt on 
this point. The assorting of the fine gravels and the sands as shown 
from the rim of some of the bogs toward the center marks the range 
of local sedimentation and in-wash. The surface soil of one bog 
examined is a light muck mixed with a great deal of sand, there being 
enough of the latter to constitute in some places a mucky sandy loam 
rather than a sandy muck. The subsoil is extremely variable, often 
differing widely in borings only 3 feet apart. Only in spots is the 
subsoil a black clay loam, and in most places the soil auger 3 feet 
long may be thrust down full length with little or no turning. A 
blue clay is said to lie underneath, but in the borings taken none hap- 
pened to be encountered within 3 feet of the surface. The soil is 
well drained to a depth of at least 2 feet. The most serious feature 
is an intermittent layer of water-washed sand from 6 to 12 inches 
thick which is found in places at 2 to 10 inches beneath the surface. 
Not infrequently some peat is found in the lower subsoil. Many 
of these bogs not utilized at present for cranberries would produce 
timothy to advantage. In others onions might well be grown by 
installing drains. To mix thoroughly the different soil materials, 
subsoiling and deep preparation tillage should precede such cropping 
wherever the sands occur in beds. Otherwise shallow-rooted crops 
would be liable to drought injury. 
In the southern half of Plymouth and Bristol Counties the to- 
pography, the soils, and the crop use of the latter closely resemble 
the conditions in northwest Barnstable County already described. 
The lowland areas constitute very important cranberry lands. The 
acreage of this crop could be increased, but it should be realized that 
competition with other producing districts, such as New Jersey and 
Wisconsin, is likely to become more keen than at present. 
The soils of northern Plymouth, northern Bristol, and eastern 
Norfolk Counties differ from those of the southern half of the former 
counties principally in having a smaller percentage of sandy types of 
soil and in having a greater proportion of their area above the 100- 
foot contour. An important part of this section, however, includ- 
ing that occupied by the Eastons, the Bridgewaters, Whitman, and 
Brockton, approximates only 100 feet in elevation, and almost the 
whole section lies between 100 and 200 feet above sea level. The 
local hills, except where the soil is unfavorable, are suitable for or- 
charding. The surface soils include loams, sandy loams, and sands 
of various depths, with subsoils of sandy loams and sands. The 
color of the surface soil is brown to yellow, while the latter color 
is almost universal in the subsoil. The subsoils of loamy types are 
