Jay Allan Bonsteel
Published: 2015-07-05
Total Pages: 24
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Excerpt from Soils of the Eastern United States and Their Use XXXVI: The Volusia Silt Loam Its surface varies, therefore, from nearly level or gently rolling to steeply sloping and almost precipitous. The greatest part of the type lies at altitudes ranging from 1,200 to 2,000 feet above tide level. Some portions of it rise to an extreme elevation of approximately 2,300 feet, while the areas found in northeastern Ohio are much less hilly and lie between 900 and 1,100 feet. The surface drainage of the Volusia silt loam is fairly adequate over the greater part of the type. Numerous springs found upon the hill slopes give rise to small swampy areas and some of the more level tracts are so closely underlain by impervious rock as to be poorly drained. The greatest difficulty with drainage, however, arises from the compacted and dense condition of the subsoil just below plow depth. Long-continued plowing to the same depth, often at times when the subsoil was too wet, has compacted and hardened the layer upon which the plow sole rides, forming what is locally known as "hardpan." This hardpan seriously interferes with the natural internal drainage of the type. Upon the more level areas of this soil erosion is not a serious problem, but there are many steep slopes within its boundaries which may be protected from destructive washing only through remaining in permanent pasture or in woodlot or forest. From many such slopes, denuded of forest when the region was cleared, practically all of the original soil has been removed, leaving only a mass of shale fragments mingled with a small amount of earth. Such slopes should never have been cleared. They comprise possibly 15 per cent of the total area of the type. The Volusia silt loam occurs at high elevations in a cold northern region. It is a moderately well drained soil, of rather heavy texture, suited under ordinary conditions only to the production of hardy crops which mature in a short growing season. The greater proportion of the type lies at too great an elevation to permit of maturing any variety of corn except the flint, and even this can only be grown for silage in the majority of years. The crop adaptation of the type is therefore restricted by its inherent characteristics and by its climatic surroundings to buckwheat, oats, Irish potatoes, and hay. Other crops are grown to a limited extent, and the better drained areas, which may also lie at lower elevations, possess a greater range in crop adaptations than the general average of the type. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
