32 BULLETIN 142, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
barley, and hay produce yields in excess of the general average for 
the different regions in which the type is found. Special crops are 
grown to some extent in different localities. Of these beans and 
sugar beets are most important, while nearly every farm on the type 
annually produces enough potatoes for the home supply. This crop 
might be more extensively grown to advantage. Rye and buckwheat 
produce fair yields, but are not grown extensively. 
The crops produced upon the Miami loam are largely fed to dairy 
and beef cattle and to hogs and sheep. The wheat and some of the 
oats and barley are sold. The sale of surplus hay is an important 
source of income in some localities. The farms are generally well 
improved, well stocked, and maintained in a good state of produc- 
tiveness. Under favorable conditions of climate and drainage it is 
possible to utilize this soil for the growing of the standard varieties 
of apples and for the production of peaches and grapes. 
MIAMI SILT LOAM. 
The Miami silt loam is an important and extensive soil type which 
has been encountered chiefly in central Indiana, northeastern Illinois, 
and southeastern Wisconsin. It has been mapped in 11 soil survey 
areas, occupying a total of 1,230,116 acres. It is known to occur in 
areas of considerable size in adjoining regions. 
The different areas of the Miami silt loam vary somewhat in color, 
topography, and drainage. Some of these variations are of sufficient 
effect upon the cropping value of the soil and upon the methods 
by which it may best be tilled and managed to warrant the separation 
of two phases of the type, in addition to its normal development. The 
typical soil is the most extensive and important, but the flat phase 
and the deep phase occupy large areas. 
The Miami silt loam consists normally of a dark-gray or light- 
brown, friable silty loam having an average depth of about 10 inches. 
The surface soil is usually somewhat deeper over level or depressed 
areas and shallower on steep slopes and over the crests of ridges. 
When moist the surface color is almost uniformly a grayish or yellow- 
ish brown, but when thoroughly dry it becomes a light or ashy gray. 
The immediate subsoil to a depth varying from 20 to 30 inches is 
a yellow or yellowish-brown silty clay loam. This is underlain by 
a yellowish -brown or brown, gritty or sandy clay, usually contain- 
ing an appreciable amount of coarse sand, gravel, and bowlders. 
As a rule this stony material consists chiefly of limestone, although 
crystalline erratics of various kinds form a part of the coarser 
grained material. 
A scattering of gravel and some cobblestones are encountered on 
the ridges and knolls occurring within the Miami silt loam, and in some 
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