LIGHT COLORED UPLAND SOILS. 
19 
Native Vegetation .—The original timber growth on this type 
consisted chiefly of white, black, and bur oaks. Maple, poplar, 
hickory, white birch, and basswood are also commonly seen, and 
hazel brush is frequently abundant. Some of the older settlers 
state that most of the timber was originally on the ridges, and 
that many of the valleys were treeless, being burned over an¬ 
nually by the Indians, who used some of the land for grazing. 
Some of the wider valleys, with dark-colored slopes, were tim¬ 
bered sparsely with oak and were called ‘ ‘ oak openings. ’ ’ Most of 
the timber which is now standing is confined to the steepest slopes 
and associated chiefly with the Rough stony land. Small wood 
lots are also seen on top of some of the narrow ridges. 
Present Agricultural Development .—By far the greater part 
of the typical Knox silt loam is under cultivation and highly im¬ 
proved, while much of the steep phase is still in timber or pas¬ 
ture land. The leading type of agriculture followed consists of 
dairying in conjunction with general farming. As the grow¬ 
ing of wheat, which was a very important industry 20 to 25 
years ago, declined, the raising of live stock and the dairy in¬ 
dustry gradually developed. 
The principal crops grown at the present time and the average 
yields obtained are as follows: Corn, 40 to 45 bushels; oats, 35 
to 45 bushels; barley, 30 to 35 bushels; wheat, 20 to 25 bushels; 
and hay, 2 to 2y 2 tons per acre. Oats are grown more extensively 
than any other grain crops. The acreage of barley is consider¬ 
ably smaller than that of oats and the acreage devoted to wheat 
is still less. The quality of the small grains grown on the Knox 
silt loam is excellent, and this soil is generally held to be a better 
grain soil than any of the other soils of Buffalo County. Corn, 
on the other hand, does not do so well on this type as on the- 
darker colored soils of the Wabash or AVaukesha series, though 
the crop is successfully grown wherever this soil occurs. Most of 
the grain and corn grown is fed to stock on the farms, though 
elevators at Alma, Fountain City, and Mondovi still ship much 
oats and barley and some wheat. AA T here the land is well farmed 
but little trouble is experienced in growing clover. When the 
snowfall is light the alternate freezing and thawing of the ground 
sometimes kills out clover. Pasturage, in general, is excellent, 
being scant only in very dry weather, or on shallow slopes or 
knolls exposed directly to the sun. 
