52 
SOIL SURVEY OF OUTAGAMIE COUNTY. 
flow, little attempt at improvement has been made. Aside from 
the marsh hay which may be cut from a portion of the type, and 
the pasture which it affords, it has a very low agricultural value. 
In all respects it is very similar to the Genesee silt loam, except 
that the latter is higher in organic matter, and has a finer texture. 
The drainage of this type under present conditions would be 
very difficult in most cases, and it is probable that it will not 
be improved for a long time, except for a few patches of the type 
which are more favorably located than the average. With good 
drainage, it will make a productive soil, adapted to a wide range 
in crop production. 
PEAT. 
The material mapped as Peat consists of vegetable matter in 
various stages of decomposition. Much of the material is still 
in a very raw fibrous condition, showing quite plainly the struc¬ 
ture of the vegetable growth from which it is derived. In a 
fibrous condition the material is brown, but with decomposition 
its color becomes darker, and where thoroughly decayed it is 
black or very dark brown. Mineral matter may be incorporated 
with the organic matter, but seldom in sufficient quantities to 
appreciably offset the texture. In the more extensive areas of 
Peat there is little or no mineral matter except about the mar¬ 
gins, where the proportion is frequently sufficient to form muck. 
The mucky areas are too small to be satisfactorily separated, 
however, and are included with the Peat. 
The depth of Peat is variable. The areas in which it is less 
than eighteen inches are separated as a shallow phase. In some 
places the organic deposits are more than ten feet deep and in 
practically all the swamps with an area of one square mile or 
more, the depth is more than three feet. It is generally deepest 
in the center of the areas, and shallowest about the margins. 
In large swamps and marshes where the material is still raw, 
there is very little difference in character between the surface 
material and the material several feet below the surface. Where 
conditions have favored rapid decomposition the material at the 
surface is frequently darker than that at lower depths, but where 
the accumulation of vegetable matter on the surface has been 
rapid, the lower depths are more decomposed and darker in 
color. A profile section may consist of eight to sixteen inches 
