DARK COLORED UPLAND SOILS. 
29 
have abused it. Cropping has been heavy and in many cases no 
element of fertility has been returned to the soil. 
The Waukesha silt loam is not difficult to handle under proper 
moisture conditions, but it can not be worked under so wide a 
range of moisture conditions as the Bates silt loam, which has 
better drainage. Where the soil is well drained alfalfa can be 
successfully grown. 
Land of this character brings from $80 to $150 an acre, 
depending upon location and improvement. 
The following table gives the results of mechanical analyses of 
samples of the soil and subsoil of the Waukesha silt loam: 
MECHANICAL ANALYSES OF WAUKESHA SILT LOAM 
Description 
Fine 
gravel 
Coarse 
sand 
Medium 
sand 
Fine 
sand 
Very fine 
sand 
Silt 
Clay 
Per cent 
Per cent 
Per cent 
Per ee tt 
Per cent 
Per cent 
Per cent 
Soil . 
0.0 
0.3 
0.4 
1.6 
10.9 
73.4 
13.4 
Subsoil . 
.0 
.1 
.2 
.6 
11.4 
72.3 
15.4 
BATES SILT LOAM. 
Description .—The surface soil of the Bates silt loam to an 
average depth of 12 to 14 inches consists of a heavy, black to 
dark-brown silt loam. The amount of organic matter in the 
surface soil is large, and the material has the smooth feel char¬ 
acteristic of silt. Litmus-paper tests indicate that the soil is in 
an acid condition. The subsoil consists of a heavy silt loam of a 
brown or chocolate-brown color, which gradually becomes lighter 
in color with depth. At 24 to 30 inches the material becomes a 
yellowish-brown, slightly sticky, heavy silt loam. Below this 
depth it frequently becomes lighter in texture and at 40 inches 
there is usually an appreciable amount of fine and very fine 
sand. On the higher slopes and tops of knolls the soil is lighter 
in color than elsewhere, and in such locations the surface material 
has been eroded, leaving the subsoil exposed. On some of the 
lower knolls underlain by sandstone the soil is thin and there is 
more or less coarser material mixed with it, giving it a somewhat 
sandy texture. 
«/ 
