GROUP OF HEAVY SOILS. 
27 
not so good as of those grown on the Knox silt loam. Clover 
and timothy produce from 1% to 2 tons per acre, and the pas¬ 
turage is generally excellent. The rotation of crops most gener¬ 
ally followed consists of corn, small grains, and hay. Of the 
small grains, oats is most commonly grown, though barley may 
also be grown in the rotation following the oats. Where the 
acid condition is corrected and the soil inoculated, the alfalfa 
crop promises to do very well. 
Dairying is the chief branch of farming followed, and hog 
raising is carried on quite extensively on many of the dairy 
farms. The buildings and other improvements on this soil are 
as a rule better than the average. Some farms produce beef 
stock in connection with dairy farming. Silos are in quite 
general use. 
VESPER SILT LOAM 
This soil consists of eight to ten inches of grayish brown 
heavy silt loam on yellowish-brown or bluish, or mottled silty 
clay loam subsoil. This subsoil is sticky and retentive of moisture. 
Lenses of fine sand may occur in the clay subsoil and beneath 
this clay, a layer of sand, or sandy clay loam lies at from twenty- 
four to thirty-six inches. The sandy material lies nearest the 
surface on slight knolls while on the flats and depressions, the 
clay subsoil may extend to four feet or more in depth. In a 
few places, shale or sandstone rock is found within three or four 
feet of the surface especially on the slight knolls. On the flats, 
one to three inches of the surface soil may be black with accu¬ 
mulated organic matter. 
This Vesper silt loam covers about five to six square miles of 
land immediately to the north and west of Merrillan. The soil 
is not found in any other part of the county. 
The topography of this soil is level or very slightly sloping. 
Very slight elevations or knolls occur in a few places. These 
have been outlined and indicated by the symbol (R) as rolling 
phase of the type. 
The drainage of the type is generally poor. This is due to 
the combined effects of a sticky clayey subsoil and the level 
topography. The drainage is so defective that cultivated crops 
can seldom be matured on it except in dry season. The slight 
knolls mentioned are well enough drained so that the soil can 
generally be cultivated. Much of the land is retained in perma- 
