SOIL SURVEY OF THE OCALA AREA, FLORIDA. 
225 
Results of mechanical analyses of samples of the typical soil and 
subsoil of this type are given below : 
Mechanical analyses of Gainesville sandy loam from 5 miles south of Ocala 
(soil, 0 - 12 , subsoil 12-36 in.). 
Number 
Descrip¬ 
tion 
Fine 
gravel 
Coarse 
sand 
Med¬ 
ium 
sand 
Fine 
sand 
Very- 
fine 
sand 
Silt 
Clay 
260823 _ 
900824 
Soil_ 
Subsoil— 
Per ct. 
0.8 
6 
Per ct. 
14.0 
9.3 
Per ct. 
23.5 
14.8 
Per ct. 
41.4 
29.7 
Per ct. 
11.8 
8.3 
Per ct. 
5.5 
4.9 
Per ct. 
3.1 
32.4 
GAINESVILLE FINE SANDY LOAM. 
The surface soil of the Gainesville fine sandy loam consists of a 
few inches of gray to dark-gray fine sand varying in places to a light 
or grayish-brown fine sand and again to a yellowish-gray or yellow 
fine sand, usually slightly coherent. The depth of this soil mantle 
varies considerably, and within short distances ranging from 8 or 
10 inches to 3 feet or more, but usually the clay subsoil is encoun¬ 
tered at 15 to 24 inches below the surface. Areas where the soil ex¬ 
ceeded 3 feet in depth are common, but are generally too small to 
show on the map, and for this reason were not separated. The sub¬ 
soil consists of a yellow to brownish-yellow or light-buff clay, vary¬ 
ing from a fine sandy clay to stiff plastic clay, the former being gen¬ 
erally friable from the sand intermingled with it. Usually the clay 
content increases with depth and the structure becomes more plastic. 
• Small fragments of rotten limestone are frequently found in the sub¬ 
soil, especially .in those places where limestone outcrops or lies near 
the surface. The quantity of this rotten rock material generally in¬ 
creases with depth. Around Lecanto the type has a darker-colored 
surface and is somewhat loamy in places, being a light sandy loam of 
dark-brown color, underlain by brownish-yellow or buff sandy to 
stiff plastic clay. Throughout the extent of the type are to be seen 
outcrops of flinty ledges of the Vicksburg formation and about these 
outcrops irregular fragments and blocks of the flinty rock over the 
surface. The rocky spots, while having in some instances enough 
rock to interfere with cultivation, were too small to indicate sep¬ 
arately on the map. 
The Gainesville fine sandy loam is of comparatively small extent. 
The areas are scattered over the western and central parts of the 
