40 
SOIL SURVEY OF WAUPACA COUNTY. 
material probably comes largely from crystalline and sandstone 
glacial debris. Most of the gravel, stones and bowlders associ¬ 
ated with this soil are largely of crystalline rock origin. The 
surface soil is frequently slightly acid, but the red clay subsoil 
is not acid and usually contains considerable carbonate of lime. 
Native vegetation .—The original timber growth on the soil 
consisted of maple, oak, elm, hickory, some walnut and varying 
amounts of pine. Most of the merchantable timber has been 
removed, though there are numerous farm wood lots in which 
there is still valuable timber. No extensive tracts of native for¬ 
est, however, are found on this soil at present. 
Present agricultural development .*—By far the greater pro¬ 
portion of this soil is cleared, under cultivation, and highly im¬ 
proved. It is devoted chiefly to general farming and dairying, 
and practically all of the crops common to the region are grown 
upon it. It is an excellent general farming soil, and some of 
the most highly improved farms of the region are found upon 
it. The surface soil is sufficiently sandy to make cultivation 
easy, while the subsoil is heavy so that moisture, and fertility 
is retained. The surface is uneven enough to insure good drain¬ 
age, but never too steep to permit the use of modern farm ma- 
chinry. It occurs in good sized tracts so that many farms are 
located entirely upon this one soil type. The crops grown are 
corn, oats, barley, rye, wheat, clover, timothy, alfalfa, potatoes, 
and other root crops. In addition some truck crops are also 
grown, but the trucking industry has not been developed on a 
commercial scale in any part of the county, although this soil is 
well suited to the growing of trucking crops. 
The general methods of farming followed are usually such as 
tend to gradually improve the soil, but there is still consider¬ 
able room for improvement along these lines. The rotation 
most commonly followed consists of corn, small grain, and hay. 
The field usually being left in hay for two years, and possibly 
pastured for a year in addition, making a four or five year ro¬ 
tation. Stable manure is the chief fertilizer used, though a 
number of farmers have started the use of commercial fertili¬ 
zers with very good results. The supply of stable manure is 
seldom sufficient to meet the needs of the soil, and the use of 
commercial fertilizers to supplement this supply is advisable. 
* See page 43 for chemical composition and improvement. 
